Why Wigan Warriors’ Oliver Partington escaped ban despite yellow card as Super League rival makes ‘deliberate or reckless contact’ with referee

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

Korbin Sims (Hull KR) – Grade C Contact with Match Official – 3 Match Penalty Notice
Romain Navarette (Toulouse Olympique) – Grade C Head Butt – 2 Match Penalty Notice
Liam Watts (Castleford Tigers) – Grade B Dangerous Contact – 2 Match Penalty Notice
Dean Whare (Catalans Dragons) – Grade B Shoulder Charge – 1 Match Penalty Notice
Jack Ormondroyd (Salford Red Devils) – Grade A Dangerous Contact – 0 Match Penalty Notice
The following player was handed a caution:

Ethan Havard (Wigan Warriors) – Dangerous Throw

However, one name not on this list is that of Wigan man Oliver Partington who was sinbinned in the Warriors’ loss to Hull KR at the weekend.

The Disciplinary Match Review Panel’s minutes state that the Wigan forward ‘Caused a melee’ and that “Player runs and confronts opponent but does not throw punches.”

Partington was also later cited for ‘Contact off the ball’: “Player obstructs opponent without the ball.”

That being said, no further action was taken on both accounts by the Match Review Panel, but one man who has not been so lucky is Hull KR’s Korbin Sims who, in the same game, was cited by the MRP for: “Law 15.1 (i) Deliberate or reckless physical contact with the match official Grade C.”

It means that the Fijian international’s career has ended prematurely with Sims set to retire at the end of 2022 and at the weekend as the Robins take on Hull FC in the much-awaited last Hull derby of the season.

However, that now looks like it will not be happening for Sims unless KR appeal the ban, but the fact it is a three-match ban means a downgrade to zero is almost impossible.