Ex-Irish ref boss ‘bewildered’ as Ellis Genge escapes sanction for ‘near-criminal assault’
Ellis Genge headbutts Alex Mann and an inset of Owen Doyle.
Owen Doyle has hit out at the soft sanction handed down to Ellis Genge for his headbutt on Wales back-rower Alex Mann during the opening round of the Six Nations.
During the first half of the fixture at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, England had been awarded a penalty but the sanction was quickly reversed by referee Pierre Brousset, who was notified about Genge’s actions.
The French official took a brief look at the footage before making his judgment and deemed that the 30-year-old front-rower’s actions didn’t warrant anything more than a penalty.
Ellis Genge lightly sanctioned
Brousset described the incident as a ‘push’ from Genge, but many have slammed the supposed ‘double standards’, as Springbok Jasper Wiese was red-carded for a similar incident against Italy last July.
A former international referee himself, Doyle has taken that stance too, while taking aim at World Rugby’s 20-minute red card trial at the same time.
He too was left perplexed as to how Genge was simply penalised for his actions that are outlawed in MMA.
“Pivotal news on the cards issue came through last week. All foul play will now go to the bunker. The day of the straight, permanent on-pitch red is finally and officially over,” he wrote in the Irish Times.
“This level of card will now only be given for the most egregious foul play, the sort of near-criminal assaults which are also outlawed in the MMA cage-fighting rulebook.
“Headbutting, of course, is on the list, which brings up Ellis Genge’s foul play in England’s romp at Twickenham. Wales were alarmingly poor and ridiculously ill-disciplined, conceding 16 penalties, four yellows and a penalty try.
“It was clearly a headbutt by Genge, bewilderingly interpreted by referee Pierre Brousset as a ‘push’. Any sort of headbutting brings the game into disrepute and there cannot be degrees of it, so Genge escaped very lightly – penalty only. Last July, South Africa’s Jasper Wiese copped a four-week suspension for something very similar after Irish referee Andrew Brace had rightly dispatched him permanently.”
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Doyle believes that a referee’s ability to issue a straight, permanent red card is an important deterrent to foul play, adding: “Those against this move have to accept that this particular horse has bolted and there’s little point in now trying to shut the stable door.”
World Rugby must act
Genge has seemingly escaped an off-field sanction too, with no indication from the RFU or Six Nations that the prop has been cited or will face a disciplinary hearing for his actions.
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The former official states that if World Rugby needs to introduce meaningful sanctions for foul play off the field, particularly if they continue to put the game’s spectacle ahead of player safety.
“World Rugby’s oft-spoken mantra of the importance of balancing spectacle with player safety has now been completely skewed in favour of spectacle,” he continued.
“The immediate on-pitch additional sanction, when a yellow card is upgraded, is only 10 minutes; normally followed by a paltry two or three-week suspension. Neither represent any sort of deterrent.
“If World Rugby’s leaders are at all serious about balancing the scales of justice, they can demonstrate it by introducing meaningful off-pitch sentences, giving players very serious pause for thought. And if they don’t, a very differently coloured message will be sent out. One way or the other, World Rugby must let us know.”
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