‘Horrendous decision’ – The sun bizarrely saves England hopeful from red card

Jared Wright
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Alfie Barbeary of Bath.

Alfie Barbeary of Bath.

Alfie Barbeary bizarrely escaped a sending-off during the opening stages of Bath’s Champions Cup clash with Racing 92 on Sunday.

The Bath back-rower has been in stellar form this season and is thought to be in the reckoning for a Test call-up for the Six Nations.

However, he could now be facing a suspension despite escaping a sending-off for his tackle on Racing 92 full-back Max Spring.

The sun saves the day

The incident occurred in the fifth minute of the game when Barbeary chased a kick over the top from Finn Russell.

The number eight charged forward and made a high tackle on the full-back, who just hit the ground as Barbeary made contact with him.

Onlookers were certain that the tackle would result in a red card; however, referee Andrea Piardi had difficulty viewing the replay due to the sunlight on the big screen at the Recreation Ground.

The man in the middle pleaded with his TMO to assist him with the decision but ultimately concluded that he did not “see a high level of danger in this and that he was happy with a yellow card”.

He added: “Sorry again, you need to help me when you call me for something on the screen because the sun is hitting the screen.”

TNT Sports pundit and ex-England international Austin Healey slammed the decision on commentary.

“Wow. Sorry, that is a horrendous decision,” he said.

Fellow commentator and ex-Bath prop David Flatman added: “Nice to see him make up but that’s not the point given the sportsmanship, but actually I am too surprised by that (decision).

“I guess maybe it’s because it was the screen. It was just marginally underneath the jaw. I guess they’re looking for mitigation, which is a positive, but geez, I think Alfie Barbeary and Bath are lucky they found some out of that.”

Online reaction

Viewers largely agreed with the commentary team as they shared their views on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

“I hate criticising officials, especially when they have to make decisions in a split second. But when you have minutes to review all the footage and still manage to get decisions like that wrong, accountability is needed. Enormous let off for Barbeary and Bath,” Tight Five Rugby posted.

One fan believed that the Bath man ‘is a very lucky boy’ and that the challenge was ‘a red card all day’, adding that the ‘inconsistency’ in these kind of decisions frustrates fans.

Meanwhile, @RugbyInsideLine believe that Barbeary will be cited and banned for the tackle.

Their post read: “Head contact includes NECK AND THROAT area.” Completely wrong call from the ref there. Should have been red. Barbeary will be cited and his Six Nations will now be at risk.

Another fan wanted to tap into the back-row’s luck, writing: “Alfie Barbeary can pick my lottery numbers.”

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