Richie Rees banned for 12 weeks
Richie Rees, the Cardiff and Wales scrum half will surely be missing entire Six Nations tournament this year due to a 12-week ban on him. The disciplinary panel of European Rugby Cup being an independent committee charged him today with the ban, for making eye to eye contact with Dylan Haley of Northampton during a Heineken Cup match in December.
Richie Rees, a Welsh international rugby union footballer who plays as scrum half is also a former Wales Under-21 international. He started his rugby professionally with Dunvant RFC and then Ospreys. He stayed in Ospreys for two years when the club won the Magners League in the 2004/05 season. He later signed with the London Irish till 2007. His return to Wales prompted him to ink a deal with the Cardiff Blues and he is playing for the club since then. He won EDF Energy Cup in 2008-09 and then went on to win the Amlin Challenge Cup 2009-10. Early last year he was selected as part of the Welsh national squad which was due to play the Six Nations tournament in 2010. He then made his international debut against England in February 2010 and scored his first try in his second match against Australia. Rees happens to be the first cousin of Gavin & Stacey superstar Joanna Page.
Rees showed up in front of the independent committee in Dublin for a disciplinary hearing as a result of citing objection occurring from Pool 1 game against Northampton Saints at Cardiff City on 19th December, 2010. Rees appealed for not being guilty to the objection on the basis that any contact was accidental. After reviewing all the evidence including all the angles from video television footage and medical report related to injuries sustained by victim Pat Barriscale, the Independent judicial officer found the Welshman guilty.
The ERC statement announced, “The judicial officer determined that Mr Rees was guilty of foul play in contravention of Law 10.4(m) in that he had made contact with the eye/eye area of Mr Hartley. The judicial officer found that the contact had been reckless and not intentional.”
The judicial officer considered it as an offence and after taking all mitigating factors into account, a 12 week suspension was announced. This means Rees won’t be able to play till 31st March, 2011.
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