To the surprise of no one other than perhaps Dan Jones, the Foul Play Review Officer (FPRO) for the match in question, Tadhg Beirne has had the 20-minute red card that he received in Ireland’s 26-13 defeat to New Zealand at Soldier Field rescinded, and he is free to play against Japan at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday (12.40).
Television match official (TMO) Ian Tempest drew the attention of referee Pierre Brousset to a collision between Beirne and New Zealand outhalf Beauden Barrett, the latter a surprised ball carrier. The Irish secondrow was adjudged to have been upright in the collision and to have made contact to the face of the All-Blacks player.
After the officials reviewed the footage, Brousset awarded a yellow card and advocated that the incident be reviewed by FPRO Jones. The Welsh-born official decided that Beirne’s actions merited a 20-minute red card.
The censure was criticised by a host of former players, among others.
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Beauden Barrett, speaking about the incident, said: “I spoke to Tadhg after the game. I was gutted for him to be honest. It is just one of those unfortunate parts of the game. I didn’t expect the ball; I was hoping that Cam (Roigard) would have played the other option. He (Beirne) had no option; he didn’t intentionally put a shot on me.
“I can’t hide that I copped a shoulder to somewhere up there (pointing to his face). That’s what happened. I will support him in terms of mitigating whatever happens next because I don’t feel he had any intention there. It was just unfortunate.”
Barrett’s support bore fruition for the Irish player as the independent disciplinary committee chaired by Christopher Quinlan KC, and including former international referee Wayne Erickson (Australia) and ex-international player Becky Essex (England), found in Beirne’s favour.
The statement read: “Having considered the player’s and other evidence and reviewed the footage, the Disciplinary Committee accepted the player’s submissions that whilst an act of foul play had occurred, it did not meet the red card threshold.
“The 20-minute red card was thus rescinded. As a result, the player is now free to play and available for selection this weekend.”
The findings lay bare the officiating mistake to escalate the sanction but also highlight the fact that the ‘junior’ partner in the officiating team was left to be the ultimate arbiter of fact in this instance. It is one of the weaknesses of the 20-minute red card.
Under the old laws, if the incident was reviewed as either a yellow or red card offence, there isn’t a chance on Earth it would have been adjudicated as a red.
It must serve as a warning that referees shouldn’t kick the can down the road to the foul play review bunker in abdicating responsibility on the decision-making front, secure in the knowledge that the worst that can happen is the “yellow-and-a-half”, 20-minute red card sanction, where the player can be replaced after the stipulated time frame.
For Beirne a sliver of consolation comes in the form that he is free to play this weekend.
