You would class Hartley holding someones shirt as serious foul play?
Under normal circumstances. no, but if the referee judges that it is being done to provoke the opponent, then yes.
I would like to see the referee with a tool in his toolkit that allows him to bin a player if he is committing foul play in order to provoke a reaction from an opponent. Jersey pulling a player without the ball IS foul play - 10.4 (e).
One of the key management issues for referees is trying to avoid what we call "
flashpoints". There are areas or acts within the game that are likely to start fights. If the referee allows the flashpoints to go unchecked, he can end up with an unpleasant game on his hands.
The following is from the Hawkes Bay Rugby Referees Association Training and development guidelines but it pretty much applies across all levels of the game
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FOUL PLAY MANAGEMENT DURING THE GAME
Recognise flashpoints
- Late, early or high tackles and charges (e.g . shoulder)
-
Cheap†shots (e.g. elbows, shoulder), and those big hits where there’s yahooing afterwards!
- Players on the ground after a tackle; arriving players climbing on top
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Interference or running obstruction
- Pillars or guard dogs and the ruck/maul phase
- Language and/or sledging, particularly at school lower club grade level
- Scrums: halfback touching the scrums; halfbacks obstructing each other, No 7’s â€" changing angle, sticking leg out in attempt to prevent non-feeding halfback following the ball.
Be confident and eyeball defenders
Be prepared to act strongly and swiftly if the situation demands â€" MAKE THE HARD CALLS
Remember,
justice must be seen to be done, especially by the non-offending teams
Take your time following the offence ; be cool, calm and collected. Do not finger point or handle players
Take your time restarting the game, shorten advantage if necessary, do not allow prolonged rucking or mauling until you feel you have the game back under control
Sin Bin â€" use where appropriate, especially for persistent or wilful infringements
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Overall, I would like to see the ****ly provocative stuff such as jersey pulling, ***** slapping & elbowing eliminated from the game. Dealing with it harshly is one way of doing it,; it makes it not worth the risk.