Castleford Tigers forward Liam Watts now faces a mammoth ban after he was controversially red carded in the opening round of Super League.
Many have criticised the decision to send off the Castleford Tigers forward for what is widely seen as accidental contact with the head.
In light of Watts facing a major ban at tribunal, the RFL have asked that fans please note that there have been some changes to the Head Contact Sanctioning Framework for the 2024 season of Betfred Super League. The Match Officials and the Match Review Panel are responsible for implementing these changes.
For offences graded A-D, recommended punishments are provided, which players and their clubs can challenge at an Operational Rules Tribunal on Tuesday evening. For charges of Grade E and F, the player is required to appear at an ORT on Tuesday evening.
In the opening round of the Betfred Super League, 13 cards were shown, and out of those, 10 incidents would have led to a card being shown under the framework that applied in 2023. One area which has made a difference is in head on head contact, and the responsibility of attacking and tackling players in this area.
Robert Hicks, the RFL’s Director of Operations and Legal, said that the sport should be grateful to the commitment of Match Officials and the MRP in implementing change at such a pivotal period for the sport. He also reiterated the RFL’s gratitude to clubs, coaches, and players for their positive approach over recent months.
It was a highly successful opening round of Betfred Super League fixtures, and the focus is now turning to the second round of matches and the Betfred World Club Challenge.
Castleford Tigers call for “urgent meeting”
Castleford Tigers v Wigan Warriors Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com – 17/02/2024 – Rugby League – Betfred Super League Round 1 – Castleford Tigers v Wigan Warriors – the Mend A Hose Jungle, Castleford, England – Castleford coach Craig Lingard is interviewed after his side s loss to Wigan. Castleford Mend A Hose Jungle England Copyright: x xSWpix.comxt/axPhotographyxHubxLtdxAllanxMcKenzie/SWpix.comx SWP-2371-0035
Castleford Tigers have now called for an urgent meeting to address the fact that they feel Watts’ offence was comparable to similar offences which have not been dealt with as strictly.
Danny Wilson said on the club’s official website: “I think you could see everybody in the game’s reaction to Liam Watts alone. At the end of the day, people make mistakes, players make mistakes, match officials make mistakes, and you can live with that if it sits with that game. When it goes to the match review panel it get’s graded in a way in comparison to other instances over the weekend. We’re left a bit confused so we need to get our house in order pretty quick. To do that, we need some explanation of why they are graded the way they are. We’ve asked for an urgent meeting with the powers that be for some explanation.”
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Peter John Ling
February 20, 2024 at 9:42 am
Danny Wilson, all the RFL Panel will do is bullsh*t there way out of it like “Management” do, they’ll hope like a Tory Politician that it will all blow over and the “Plebs” will forget about it, a £250 fine for a “Tackle”(I use that term loosely) that could have broken the players neck and yetSao gets 3 matches for raising a knee and ACCIDENTLY catches Parcel on the head, it SUCKS!!
John w french
February 20, 2024 at 10:36 am
having watched the two tacklers in coming together there is very little contact by the players on directly to the head the referee was at somepoint influenced by the vidio ref who when he’s on the field gives a on field try but always goes to the vidio ref for clarifcation and yet he’s given it has a try there’s no justice with officals these days