The citing complaint against Bristol Bears flyer Kalaveti Ravouvou has been dismissed following an independent Disciplinary Hearing.
Ravouvou had been cited after copping a 64th minute yellow card during their Investec Champions Cup, round one 36-34 win over Lyon.
The complaint was made by the match Citing Commissioner, Ed Kenny (Ireland).
Law 9.18 A player must not lift an opponent off the ground and drop or drive that player so that their head and/or upper body make contact with the ground.
Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.18 carries the following sanction entry points – Low End: 6 weeks; Mid-range: 10 weeks; Top end: 14 to 52 weeks.
Roger Morris (Wales), Chair, Valeriu Toma (Romania) and Marcello d’Orey (Portugal) reviewed the video evidence of the incident and heard evidence by video conference from Ravouvou, who accepted that he had committed an act of foul play but did not accept that his actions warranted a red card.
The committee also heard submissions from the player’s legal representative, Sam Jones, from the Bristol Bears Director of Rugby, Pat Lam, from the Bristol Bears Team Manager, Jack Targett, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan.
The committee determined that Ravouvou had committed an act of foul play, and that the match officials were not wrong in issuing him with a yellow card, however, it decided that his actions did not warrant a red card and the citing complaint was dismissed.
The Nadroga Navosa man was alleged to have tackled the Lyon replacement, Alexandre Tchaptchet, in a dangerous manner in the match in contravention of Law 9.18.
Ravouvou is free to play immediately.
