Why Castleford Tigers’ Mahe Fonua didn’t receive ban despite yellow card

Castleford Tigers went down 32-12 to Wigan Warriors on Saturday afternoon live on Channel 4.

The West Yorkshire side did actually take the lead, with tries from Greg Eden and Kenny Edwards sending Castleford 12-0 up.

However, Mahe Fonua’s yellow card for a kick out at Wigan’s Liam Farrell halted all the home side’s momentum even though the Tigers still led 12-4 at half-time.

That being said, the Warriors came out to score 28 unanswered points in the second forty minutes and inflict a resounding defeat on Castleford who have been out of sorts since Lee Radford took the reins before the season began.

Yet despite Fonua being sinbinned by referee James Child, the Disciplinary Match Review Panel has decided to just hand the Tigers centre a caution instead, stating: “Law 15.1 (i) Other Contrary Behaviour – Lashing out with legs.”

Following the latest round of Betfred Super League and Reserve fixtures, the Match Review Panel have issued the following sanctions:

Sione Mata’utia (St Helens) – Grade B Dangerous Contact – 2 Match Penalty Notice
Peter Mata’utia (Warrington) – Grade B Dangerous Contact – 1 Match Penalty Notice
Matt Parcell (Hull KR) – Grade A Dangerous Contact – 0 Match Penalty Notice
Harvey Livett (Salford) – Grade A Disputes Decision – 0 Match Penalty Notice
Scott Taylor (Hull FC) – Grade B Dangerous Contact – 1 Match Penalty Notice
Jacob Gannon (Warrington Reserves) – Grade D Dangerous Contact – Refer to Tribunal
Muizz Mustapha (Leeds Reserves) – Grade E Dangerous Throw – Refer to Tribunal
The following players were handed cautions:

Mahe Fonua (Castleford) – Other Contrary Behaviour
Tyrone May (Catalans) – Other Contrary Behaviour