How long Brad Fash could be banned for if charged for ‘testicle grab’

Games between Hull FC and Hull KR are always fiery but Saturday’s match-up was especially so with the fallout of the game consumed by allegations of testicle grabbing. That’s what Hull KR’s captain Elliot Minchella has accused Brad Fash of with an image seeming to verify it, but what possible ban could the Hull FC forward be facing?

Both Minchella and Fash were shown yellow late in the first half with the Hull KR captain left confused by the decision given that he deemed himself the victim in the incident. The pair were at the centre of a melee during which the 28-year-old Robin alleged his FC counterpart used “underhand tactics” and grabbed him where it hurts.

As reported by the Hull Daily Mail, Minchella explained: “I think there’s a photo doing the rounds of me getting grabbed in a certain area of my body, which is unacceptable in my opinion.

“I knew about it straight away. I mean, I’m not the most blessed person, but you certainly feel it! Look, 100 per cent I felt it. I was a bit confused with the decision of the referee to give me a sin bin, but I think what happened—the incident—is totally unacceptable.”

As is always the case, the Match Review Panel will assess incidents from each and every game with Brad Fash likely to be the subject of a lengthy discussion as to if and for how long he is banned. To provide some context on the matter, we’ve recalled a number of similar ‘testicle grabs’ over the years to see what action the Hull FC forward could face.

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What ban could Brad Fash be handed for testicle grab?

It’s still unclear what provoked the alleged incident during KR’s 24-10 victory but Brad Fash and Elliot Minchella do have a personal history, something that Fash has seemingly harboured more so than Minchella.

Brad Fash was accused of biting Minchella in 2022 but the Hull FC forward was found not guilty at tribunal. It will be interesting to see what the Match Review Panel make of his actions.

We’ve looked at five previous charges relating to four separate players to see how they got on with the Match Review Panel and the ensuing Operational Rules Tribunal.

Previous ‘Testicle Grab’ charges and what bans they carried

One man charged with the act on two occasions was Leon Pryce but the former Bradford Bulls and St Helens received two very different punishments.

In 2007, Pryce was handed a three-game ban for being overly familiar with current Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess. Pryce admitted a charge of ‘ungentlemanly conduct and was banned for the Challenge Cup Final.

A year later, Pryce escaped a ban after committing the same offence against Andy Lynch with the RFL deeming that there was “no apparent foul play” arguing that “contact was not necessary but absolutely minimal”, per The Telegraph & Argus.

He was maybe very lucky on that occasion with three more recent offences warranting bans, however, they have ranged from just two games all the way up to ten games.

Incoming teammate of Brad Fash, Jordan Abdull, was charged with the offence of “other contrary behaviour” in 2020 whilst playing for Hull KR and after pleading guilty to ‘applying pressure to the genital area’ of James Bentley, received a two-game ban.

Back then, the suspension range for the offence was three to five matches but Abdull received a lesser sentence due in part to the guilty plea and previous good behaviour, something that Brad Fash probably doesn’t have credit in the bank for.

Fash has been subject to 20 citations over the past four years with eight of those drawing charges, however, he is yet to be banned this season which is something that could work in his favour.

That same weekend, Warrington Wolves’ Tom Lineham copped an eight-game ban but crucially the winger pleaded not guilty. The Operational Rules Tribunal argued that the footage saw Lineham’s arm muscles strain in a motion caused by a “gripping of the hand”.

The huge disparity in the two bans, handed down on the same weekend, highlights what a minefield predicting Brad Fash’s outcome is.

One man who received an even lenghtier ban was Bradford’s George Flanagan with the veteran copping a ten-game ban for the offence in 2021. He too pleaded not guilty but a previous ‘testicle grab’ from 2019 that earned him an eight-game ban contributed to his heavy ban.

If Brad Fash is charged, which still remains to be seen, it would seem smart to plead guilty given the huge bans that both Flanagan and Lineham received compared to Abdull. The Match Review Panel will determine their charge by tomorrow afternoon.

All uncredited data relating to bans sourced from the RFL website.