Robin Copeland given a two-week suspension

Irish born Cardiff Blues number eight Robin Copeland has received a two week suspension following his sending off against the Scarlets.

He was dismissed for bringing his boot down on the head on Scarlets' fullback Liam Williams, who coincidentally had a hearing of his own, after receving two yellow cards and therefore a red, in the same match at the Millennium stadium.

The two players, who appeared at separate disciplinary hearings, received suspension of two weeks; Copeland for a stamp to the head contrary to Law 10.4 (b) and Williams for a dangerous tackle contrary to Law 10.4 (e).

Williams had received a yellow card for that incident, his first of the match, which later resulted in a red card being issued for second of the two yellow cards. However the independent citing commissioner at the match cited Liam Williams for the dangerous tackle, in effect upgrading the yellow card to a red card.

The independent disciplinary committee convened for the hearing, chaired by David Martin (Ireland), along with George Spotswood and Pat Barriscale (also Ireland), upheld the citing and imposed the sanction of a two-week suspension ending on midnight on Sunday May 4th, 2014.

The committee’s view was that here was a heavy onus on the tackling player to ensure the safety of the player in the air. Both players have the right of appeal.