Why the RFL were able to hit Josh McGuire with huge ban

After a long tribunal a verdict on Josh McGuire was finally reached last night.

The loose forward has been given one of the longest bans we’ve seen as well as a fine.

The Operational Rules Tribunal began at 19:30 but the results were not published until 22:00 giving an insight into how thorough this was.

McGuire was ultimately banned for 12-match, meaning he will miss a total of 19 games through suspension following a similar incident prior to this season, and fined £1000.

The tribunal said:

“Josh McGuire of Warrington Wolves has been suspended for 12 matches and fined £1,000 after being found guilty of a Grade F charge of unacceptable language in the Betfred Super League fixture at Leigh Leopards on May 26.

“McGuire, who pleaded not guilty, has already served a seven-match suspension this season after being found guilty of a Grade F charge of unacceptable language in Warrington’s pre-season fixture against Leigh in February. On that occasion, he was also fined £1,000, and required to undertake mandatory education.

“The independent Operational Rules Tribunal was chaired by His Honour Judge John Thackray QC, with two former professional players as side members.”

Many will question, given how rare a 12-match ban is, why this was reached and if the RFL has the power to hit a player with such a lengthy charge for a Grade F offence.

Well the truth is, they can.

The RFL’s sentencing guidelines leaves the door open for harsh punishments for Grade F offences by ruling that a ban can be 6 games or more.

Thus, the suspension is well within the rules set out by the RFL.

Here are the suspension guidelines:

Grade	Normal Suspension Range
A	NFA – Fine
B	Fine – 1 match
C	1–2 matches
D	2-3 matches
E	4-6 matches
F	6+ or suspension period