Romania front row Tudor Butnariu appeared before an independent judicial committee via video link having received a red card for an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.13 (dangerous tackle) in Romania’s international match against Uruguay on 10 July, 2022.

The independent Disciplinary Committee chaired by Jennifer Donovan (Ireland), joined by former international referee Juan Pablo Spirandelli (Argentina) and former international player Stefan Terblanche (South Africa), heard the case, considering all the available evidence, including multiple broadcast angles, referee report, information from the Uruguayan team and submissions from the player and his representative.

The player admitted that he had committed an act of foul play and accepted that it warranted a red card.

Having reviewed all the evidence, the Committee noted that:

  • The player had made contact with the Uruguayan player’s head.
  • Pursuant to the World Rugby Sanctions for Foul Play, any act of foul play that results in contact with the head and/or the neck shall result in at least a mid-range sanction unless such sanction would be wholly disproportionate to the offending player’s fault and the consequences thereof.

The Committee decided that World Rugby’s mandatory minimum mid-range entry point for foul play should be applied which resulted in a starting point of a six-week suspension.

Having considered both mitigating and aggravating factors including the player’s conduct, the remorse shown by the player to the victim player and the player’s previous disciplinary record (which included previous offences), the Committee reduced the six-week entry point by the maximum 50 per cent, resulting in a sanction of three weeks. The matches that the player will miss will be assessed by the Committee on the provision of further information in relation to the player’s upcoming domestic season.

The Committee also approved the player's application under the Head Contact Process: Coaching Intervention Programme. If the coaching application is approved, the player’s sanction could be reduced by one week.

The player has the right of appeal within 48 hours of the issuing of the full written decision, which will appear here once published. 

Click here to watch the video that explains how rugby’s disciplinary process works.

Visit World Rugby’s dedicated disciplinary process education and information page here.

World Rugby is managing the communications for all matches in the July test window. Please contact media@world.rugby for further information.