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Tue 2 May 2017 | 02:08
Worcester Warriors prop Val Rapava Ruskin cited for referee push

11
Comments

Worcester Warriors prop Val Rapava Ruskin will appear before a RFU Discplinary panel tomorrow following this push he made on referee Greg Garner during the Aviva Premiership match against Newcastle Falcons at the weekend.

*NOTE: See update at the bottom that details his 6 week suspension

Rapava Ruskin, who is of Georgian descent but has been touted to be a future England frontrow powerhouse, has been charged with allegedly committing acts contrary to good sportsmanship, under Law 10.4(m).

The prop pushed match official Greg Garner in the back with both hands as they both approached the breakdown. Garner called him aside and firmly reprimanded him, but apart from the penalty, took no further action.

"Put your hands on me like that again.. push me out the way, and I will send you off the pitch."

Rapava Ruskin was subsequently cited following the match and will therefore appear before a three-person RFU Disciplinary panel chaired by Daniel White in Bristol on Wednesday 3 May at 6:30pm.  

Ruskin is heading to Gloucester for next season, but could be out of action for a number of weeks following this incident, which means he will miss his farewell home match against Leicester Tigers.

He is on standby for England's two-match series against Argentina in the summer, but that could also be in jeopardy if he gets handed a lengthy suspension.

UPDATE: Rapava Ruskin pleaded guilty and has been suspended for 6 weeks

The RFU Disciplinary panel said:

"The panel heard from the player and after carefully considering all of the available evidence, found that this was at the lower end of seriousness for this type of offending. The panel imposed a sanction of six weeks which reflects the seriousness of making contact with a referee or any match official."

Posted By: Grant Constable

11 Comments

  • drg
    9:54 AM 05/05/2017

    Wouldn't the incident be looked at as a whole...? For instance do you think six weeks would be the punishment if he said to the referee "I'm sorry sir, I thought you were an oppo player, I didn't look properly"?

    I don't have an issue with the ban personally... I mean if they turned around when you started playing rugby and said "oh yeah lads, if you ever push the referee, you'll be banned for 2 years" I reckon most people would make that their primary avoidance!

    As you said, the push wasn't that bad, but I think the game is heading towards football and anything that stops players crowding around a referee etc or touching the referee is fine in my books...

  • im1
    5:00 PM 04/05/2017

    would eye contact count as contact?

    I think 6 weeks trivialises what happened. There was no aggression in the push. That length of ban is starting to get to the stage where players are doing some pretty nasty things (testicle grabs, deliberate tip tackles) to their opponents to get that long on the side lines. Most people are more offended by the lack of apology rater than the incident itself.

  • drg
    8:34 AM 04/05/2017

    6 weeks..

  • im1
    8:38 PM 03/05/2017

    a very very slow moving Bristol player.....

  • dor
    6:21 PM 03/05/2017

    If he thought it was a Bristol player, I think it should be a long ban since he was playing against Newcastle Falcons, there's a fair few miles between the two. ???? Sorry couldn't resist.

    As a Falcons fan and youth coach/ref, ref dealt with it the right way for me. No he shouldn't touch the ref, but he's looking into the ruck and has possibly not registered it's the ref. Stern talking to, penalty against him and warning about future behaviour sounds like the right approach when the ref may have doubt about intent. Yellow card could potentially have had a huge effect on what was a close game.

    Should always treat the ref respect and make an apology though. The way he just walked away when the ref had spoken to him certainly doesn't help, looks too much like football with that sort of behaviour.

  • facepalm
    1:47 PM 03/05/2017

    Mujati's push was much more aggressive

  • tapperjones
    12:59 PM 03/05/2017

    I'm glad the ref didn't yellow card him initially as it was just a stupid and arrogant action that didn't actually effect the play. However, I found the lack of apology absolutely disgusting. The player should have been on his knees saying sorry.

  • im1
    12:51 PM 03/05/2017

    i know player shouldn't touch the ref and he should have apologise but I think a lenghty ban would be a bit harsh. There is no malice in it. I think he is genuinely looking at the ruck and can see that the 9 is looking to get the ball out, so he is trying to clear the area around it, which I assume all forwards are coached to do. He can see someone in front of him and by default assumes its a Bristol player being a bit slow to get on side and without thinking gives him a nudge. I agree there should probably be a no tolerance approach when it comes to contact with the ref, but this is surely the lowest possible level. If he had apologised straight away etc, I would even suggest it could just be left there. Maybe just a penalty offence. Its not as if he knocked him out...

  • katman
    9:08 AM 03/05/2017

    Brian Mujati got six weeks for the exact same thing. http://www.rugbydump.com/2009/10/1133/brian-mujati-cited-for-push-on-referee-nigel-owens

  • drg
    11:20 PM 02/05/2017

    Should have yellow carded him for it in the first instance, second yellow card for no apology...

    Idiot..

  • mastersa
    11:20 PM 02/05/2017

    Ban him for 6 weeks. That will teach him.

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