Japan’s Kanji Shimokawa attended a hearing before an independent Disciplinary Committee on 15 July, 2024, having received a red card for an offence contrary to Law 9.20(d) (a player must not roll, pull or twist an opponent in the ruck) in Japan’s international match against Georgia in Sendai on 13 July, 2024.

The independent Disciplinary Committee was chaired by Philippe Cavalieros (France), joined by former international referees Donal Courtney (Ireland) and Val Toma (Romania).

The player accepted that foul play had occurred and that the offence warranted a red card.

The Committee considered the appropriate entry point for the offending and decided that the offence warranted a low-end entry point of two matches. Having considered submissions as regards mitigation, the Committee applied full 50 per cent mitigation to the sanction resulting in a final sanction of one match.

The player is therefore suspended for the following match:

• Japan v Italy – 21 July, 2024

The player has the right of appeal within 48 hours of the issuing of the full written decision, which will be published here in due course.

Visit World Rugby’s dedicated disciplinary process education and information page here, which includes a video on how rugby’s disciplinary process works.