Fri 4 Mar 2016 | 04:08
Martin Castrogiovanni banned for stamping on foot of Scotland back

8
Comments

Italy prop Martin Castrogiovanni has been banned for two weeks for stamping on the foot of Scotland centre Duncan Taylor when the two sides got in a bit of a scuffle at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Saturday. Scotland won the match 36-20.

He appeared before a Disciplinary Committee, after the stamp went unnoticed during the match.

The committee reviewed all of the evidence and listened to representations made by, and on behalf of, Castrogiovanni in which he acknowledged that he had committed the act of foul play.
 
The Disciplinary Committee found that the act of foul play warranted a red card.

In considering the entry point for sanction, they assessed the seriousness of his actions and found that the act was at the lower end of World Rugby's sanctions, carrying a two-week suspension.

Having considered the various mitigating factors involved, including the player's admission and his regret at his actions, the committee found that these were not sufficient to merit a reduction in the entry point sanction, and suspended Castrogiovanni for two weeks.

While it wasn't your traditional 'stamp', it was clearly petulant and deserving of punishment. He also went at it not once but twice, obviously making proper contact on the second attempt.

You could see Greig Laidlaw trying to alert Jaco Peyper to it, but with so many players doing that these days, Peyper obviously didn't take it too seriously.

8 Comments

  • benny
    5:01 PM 07/03/2016

    I love the way he walks over, puts the boot in then walks off while it all kicks off. Not condoning violence but top marks for subtlety

  • drg
    2:58 PM 06/03/2016

    To be fair though, this kind of shit is rife amongst forwards... being clear headed, no one wants to throw the first punch - not obviously anyway. This kind of stuff provokes a reaction, in which you can take the stand that "I was being attacked by him throwing punches, that's the only reason I retaliated and punched back".... Obviously in this day and age it seems to be a red card to anyone throwing punches regardless of who started it and then there are so many cameras that the TMO will pick up on the sneaky provocation.

    Bending fingers, stepping on toes, knees pressed on body parts, elbows on body parts etc etc, are all under that "dark arts" banner. I don't know how many of you agree with things being done, but I was taught at school level a good way to relieve someones grip on a ball in a maul etc is to grab a finger and start bending it, chances are they'll drop their grip before you damage their finger...

  • drg
    11:27 PM 04/03/2016

    To be fair though, he is a scrum half, kind of his duty to be a noisy shite all bloody game.. I'd say Laidlaw had a cracker, not only did he fulfil his duty, it actually worked in his favour... unlike a few scrum halves I've played with....

  • danknapp
    8:56 PM 04/03/2016

    If the committee had been made up of ex-front rowers, he'd have been banned for life. Who the fuck stamps on someone else's toes? Castro has lost a lot of my respect for this.

  • stroudos
    8:42 PM 04/03/2016

    Ha! That is hilarious. :)

    What a knob though. Disappointed and surprised; didn't think he was that sort of slag.

  • stroudos
    7:48 PM 04/03/2016

    Laidlaw needs to learn to put a bloody sock in it. Constantly chuntering away at the refs. And always with that moany facial expression too. God he'd wind me up if I was reffing.

  • 10stonenumber10
    6:34 PM 04/03/2016

    Schoolboy Lunchtime Queue tactics. If there's only 2 jam roly-poly left, it is every man for himself. No hands or pushing though, or the teachers will see.

  • drg
    5:25 PM 04/03/2016

    Looked like he tried to dead leg the Scot too....

    Given the amount of talking Laidlaw did in the match, I'm sort of unsurprised that Peyper didn't check this, he couldn't listen to everything Ladilaw said...

    As for the incident itself.. I'm not sure it warrants a red card..

    This is one of those more than a yellow less than a red sort of cards...It's unacceptable, but it's not really the same sort of thing I'd consider to be red card worthy either...