Freddie Steward’s crimson card in England’s ultimate Six Nations sport towards Eire on Saturday has been rescinded.
The England full-back, 22, was despatched off just before half-time after his elbow made contact with Hugo Keenan’s head.
An unbiased disciplinary committee reviewed all out there proof and heard from Steward by way of video hyperlink.
The committee discovered there have been “adequate mitigating elements” for the collision and dominated that Steward is free to play once more instantly.
Eire made a unfastened, ahead move which hit the bottom earlier than being gathered by Keenan, with the ball bouncing a break up second earlier than Steward and Keenan collided.
The committee deemed that referee Jaco Peyper ought to have proven Steward a yellow card somewhat than a crimson, and subsequently been sin-binned, saying that one of many mitigating elements was “the late change within the dynamics and positioning of the opposing participant”.
Nevertheless, the committee additionally “acknowledged that match officers are required to make selections underneath strain and within the warmth of a dwell match setting”.
Eire had been main 10-6 when Steward was despatched off and went on to win 29-16 in Dublin to safe a fourth Grand Slam title.
Steward was despatched off for breaching Regulation 9.13, which refers to harmful tackling “above the road of the shoulders”, however the committee amended the regulation that was breached to Regulation 9.11, which refers to reckless tackling “main with the elbow or forearm”.
Steward denied that he had dedicated an act of foul play worthy of a crimson card as described in Regulation 9.11 and the committee agreed, regardless that they felt he had been “reckless in his actions and in his upright positioning”.
‘Ridiculous’ and ‘a shambles’ – how rugby reacted
Talking on Saturday, former England scrum-half Matt Dawson argued that Steward did “his utmost to keep away from contact”.
“I can not disagree with how the contact is a crimson, however it’s the context of the way it went to that contact,” he mentioned on BBC Radio 5 Reside.
“He’s stepping and slowing and turning to get out of the contact space, and has been punished by being despatched off. It’s a mockery. It’s an utter farce.”
World Cup winner Jason Robinson described the choice as “completely ridiculous”, including: “That was a yellow card at greatest.”
England centre Jonathan Joseph mentioned it was an “absolute shambles”, whereas former wing Ugo Monye described it as a “dangerous name” as a result of the conflict was “a rugby incident”.
Ex-England captain Will Carling mentioned: “Steward had a break up second to react – after a knock-on – to a person working at him.
“There was no intent – he was defending himself – what a joke.”
