Italy powerhouse banned for reckless headbutt on All Blacks star despite head coach’s ‘harsh’ sanction claim
Niccolo Cannone's headbutt on All Blacks scrum-half Cam Roigard.
Italy star Niccolo Cannone has been slapped with a four-game ban for his headbutt on All Blacks star Cam Roigard in the Azzurri’s 47-17 defeat to New Zealand in the Nations Championship.
The second-rower was issued a yellow card in the 52nd minute of the game, with the incident sent to be reviewed by the Foul Player Review Officer, who upgraded the sanction to a 20-minute red card.
However, many onlookers believed that Cannone should have been shown a permanent red card from the outset, as acts of thuggery can still be sanctioned in that manner.
Niccolo Cannone banned
The Nations Championship has now issued a statement confirming that the Azzurri star will miss Italy’s final July international against Australia as well as Benetton’s first three games of the new season.
“The Foul Play Review Committee (FPRC) has found Italy lock Niccolo Cannone guilty of physical abuse in contravention of Law 9.12. The dangerous play, for which Cannone received a red card, occurred in the 52nd minute of the Nations Championship match between New Zealand and Italy at Hnry Stadium, Wellington,” the statement read.
“The FPRC determined that the act of foul play merited a low-end entry point of six weeks/matches. In light of Cannone’s acceptance that he committed an act of foul play worthy of ordering off, as well as mitigating factors such as his disciplinary record, conduct, and remorse, the FPRC applied a 2-week reduction to the sanction.
“Cannone has been suspended from all forms of the game for four weeks, which will apply to the fixtures below.
– Australia v Italy, Saturday, 18 July 2026
– Benetton Rugby v Zebre Parma, Saturday, 4 September 2026
– Black Lion v Benetton Rugby, Saturday, 12 September 2026
– Benetton Rugby v Dragons, Friday, 25 September 2026”
Gonzalo Quesada’s ‘harsh’ claim
Speaking after the match, Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada took issue with the sending off.
“I think the 20-minute red card on our number four, Niccolo Cannone, held up on the floor by [All Black] 17 and not even seeing it, is a bit harsh,” he said.
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“I think the yellow on Love, their number 10. It’s a yellow, and I will stop there because I can continue on. I don’t want to speak about that honestly.
“It was tough to defend the try where they allow them to play a quick penalty with two injured players of Italy plus yellow card.
“So it’s terrible to concede more than 40 points in a game like that. It’s tough for, and I never like talking about the referee, but when I see the efforts my players, I want to defend them.
“We were we talked a lot around the week because after losing in Japan, end of the season, a lot of terrible traveling, tough weather in Wellington too.”
