McCarthy Banned For Two Weeks

Connacht’s versatile forward Mike McCarthy has received a two-week suspension for a first half tackle on Toulouse’s Vincent Clerc during last Saturday’s Heineken Cup encounter at the Sportsground.

A disciplinary hearing was convened today as a result of the citing complaint made against Mike McCarthy, arising from the Heineken Cup Pool 6 clash with Toulouse at the Sportsground.

The complaint was made by citing commissioner Bruce Reece-Russel from England, and was for an alleged dangerous tackle on Toulouse winger Vincent Clerc, during the first half of the game, in contravention of Law 10.4(e) for which McCarthy received a yellow card.

Law 10.4(e) – Dangerous tackling of an opponent including a tackle or an attempted tackle above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.

During the hearing, McCarthy accepted that he had committed an act of foul play, but he disputed that it warranted a red card.

The independent judicial officer, Roger Morris (Wales), heard submissions from the player, his solicitor Donal Spring, Connacht team manager Tim Allnutt and also from ERC disciplinary officer Roger O’Connor.

The independent judicial officer upheld the citing complaint and having considered the evidence available, determined that the act was in the low-end of the level of seriousness for an offence of this type, with an entry point of two weeks.

After considering the player’s disciplinary record the judicial officer added one week to the entry level, and deducted one week in mitigation due to the player’s guilty plea and conduct during the hearing.

With McCarthy receiving a suspension of two weeks, he will be available to play again on Thursday, December 8. That means will miss Connacht’s upcoming RaboDirect PRO12 games against the Ospreys and Benetton Treviso.

Both parties, ERC and McCarthy, have the right to appeal the decision.