Categories: Connacht European Rugby Provincial URC

Aki Suspended For Four Matches

Ireland international Bundee Aki's three most recent appearances for Connacht were against provincial rivals Ulster and Leinster (twice) ©Seb Daly/Sportsfile

A misconduct complaint made against Connacht and Ireland centre Bundee Aki, under the URC disciplinary rules, has been upheld by an independent disciplinary committee resulting in a six-week suspension, two of which are suspended for two years.

It means he will be unavailable for Connacht’s BKT United Rugby Championship match against Zebre Parma on Saturday, and the opening three fixtures of Ireland’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations campaign against France, Italy, and England.

Andy Farrell’s men have a training camp in Portugal this week as part of their Six Nations preparations. An IRFU statement confirmed earlier today that Aki did not travel with the squad for disciplinary reasons, with Ulster’s Jude Postlethwaite taking his place.

The statement continued: “The IRFU does not tolerate any form of disrespect shown towards match officials and does not condone actions that fall below the standards expected of players representing Irish rugby.

“The IRFU are investigating the matter further internally and no additional comment will be made at this time.”

Aki today appeared in front of an independent disciplinary committee, chaired by Scotland’s Roddy Dunlop KC, who was supported by Attie Heyns (South Africa) and Andrea Caranci (Italy).

The committee considered the complaint related to disconduct in breach of the United Rugby Championship’s disciplinary rules (including clauses 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3).

The misconduct charges arose from last Saturday’s BKT United Rugby Championship derby clash between Connacht and Leinster at Dexcom Stadium, during which Aki came on as a replacement in both halves.

After considering all of the submissions, the independent committee deemed that the 35-year-old engaged with the match official team after the game on several occasions in a manner which breached the disciplinary rules.

The committee concluded that his behaviour constituted verbal abuse and disrespect of a match official(s) under the relevant rules.

In determining its sanction, the committee felt that a suspension of six weeks was appropriate, with two of those weeks suspended.

The committee also recognised Aki’s full regret for his actions and was grateful for the approach that he took towards the proceedings.

However, given his previous disciplinary record (including incidents of a similar nature) and his lack of a plea in this case, the committee could not apply mitigation to the sanction.

Aki was reminded by the committee of the importance of the spirit and values of the game of rugby, and the importance of respect towards match officials. He was also reminded of his right to appeal.