'Any abusive comments are plainly unacceptable': The worrying social media warning contained in the Mike Brown red card written judgment
Harlequins have issued a statement confirming they have now received the full written judgement into the disciplinary hearing that resulted in Mike Brown receiving a six-match ban, a suspension that means he will not play for the club again prior to his move to Newcastle on a two-year deal.
Brown was banned for stamping on Wasps’ Tommy Taylor last weekend, foul play that led to his sending off for Harlequins by referee Wayne Barnes at The Stoop. “The club can confirm it is now in receipt of the full written judgment following full-back Mike Brown’s sending off vs Wasps on May 9 and subsequent suspension,” read the statement.
“The club and player will now carefully consider their position. Harlequins continue to support Mike, who has been part of our family for 17 years, as a player and person. The club will make no further comment at this time.”
An eleven-page judgment posted on the disciplinary section of the RFU website has now outlined what actually happened at the hearing, including how Brown presented character reference letters from the likes of Harlequins assistant Nick Evans, his former club boss John Kingston and his old England coach Stuart Lancaster.
A postscript at the end of the document from panel chairman Matthew Weaver also hit out at the social media commentary that surrounded last weekend’s incident. Weaver wrote: “As is clear from the decision above, the panel were unanimous that this was not a deliberate stamp by the player.
"There were a lot of bum taps and hugs but it was more about celebrating the emotion of the win"
– What unfolded in Harlequins' dressing room last Sunday after Brown's red card was followed by a dramatic Premiership victory https://t.co/pNixDnUYFD
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 13, 2021
“This decision was reached after a detailed review of video footage (from a number of angles and at various speeds, including frame by frame) and hearing from the player directly at length. The player was clearly remorseful and conducted himself throughout the process in a manner that does him much credit.
“Whilst the panel understands that every rugby supporter is entitled to voice their own views on incidents within matches via social media, it is hoped that this decision provides sufficient information for any views expressed on this incident (and indeed on the player) to be informed and based primarily on the facts of the incident.
“Any abusive comments aimed at the player (whether generally or as a result of this incident) are plainly unacceptable, inconsistent with the values and core principles of rugby and condemned by the panel.”
Earlier in the written judgment, the evidence presented by Brown at the hearing outlined what in his opinion had happened when he tangled with Taylor when Harlequins were defending their line. “The player talked the panel through the incident by reference to the video footage, taken frame by frame. He explained that he was 35 years old and had been a professional rugby player since he was 18, spending his entire career to date at Harlequins.
“He has played 351 games for Harlequins and won 72 caps for England. He described his approach to the game as hard, tough and physical but never overstepping the mark and always being respectful to opponents.
“He was clear that this was not a deliberate act and that the thought of stamping on another player’s head had never entered his mind, whether on this occasion or throughout his career. The player explained that he knew Taylor from England camps and got on well with him. There was absolutely no bad feeling between the two men.
“The player described what he was trying to do during the incident. He explained that he was trying to return to the game as quickly as possible, something that his club constantly encourages and expects, particularly given that his team were defending their own try line at the time. He attempted to avoid falling to the ground to maximise the chances of him returning to the game as quickly as possible.
“He was being held by Taylor on his upper body and on his left leg. As he tried to go back into the game, he became unbalanced and when he placed his right leg on the ground, he felt immediately that he had made contact with something other than the ground (namely, Taylor’s head/face) and attempted to remove all weight and force from his right leg by hopping.
“This action caused him to fall onto the ground but was intended to avoid putting any force through his right leg. The player denied that Taylor’s actions had caused him to become frustrated and to lash out in any way.
“When asked about the unnatural looking placement to his right leg (i.e. towards Taylor rather than to the player’s right) the player explained that as he was unbalanced, he was simply attempting to correct his balance and stop himself leaning (and possibly falling) to the left. He maintained that he was focused on the game and not on Taylor and that as soon as he was aware of making contact with Taylor, he attempted to take all weight or force out of his right leg.
“The player confirmed that when he got to his feet, he turned around to check how Taylor was and did not return to the game until a physio attended Taylor on the pitch. After receiving the red card, the player felt that it was important to speak to Taylor and apologise for what was an accident in his view.”
- To read the eleven-page judgment, click here
"There was no shortage of interest"
– It has taken a while for Harlequins to get from Gustard's January exit to getting down to the last "one or two" candidates https://t.co/xmJcVA4BVi
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 13, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
An on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to comments