[2015 Super Rugby] Sharks vs. Chiefs (Round 6) 21/03/2015

[TRF Mr Fish]

http://planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3551_40541,00.html

In an unprecedented move, Francois Steyn has flown to Switzerland for an emergency meeting with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland.

The last ditch effort to appeal his ban comes after the SANZAR Appeals Committee allowed an appeal by SANZAR against the verdict of the initial SANZAR judicial hearing that cleared the utility back of a tip-tackle.


Since there is no sporting body that can out-muscle SANZAR in the southern hemisphere, the former Springbok has looked north to CAS in the hope of overturning the decision.


Steyn, who will be accompanied by du Plessis brothers Bismark and Jannie on the mission, is set to meet with CAS Head of Arbitration William Sternheimer and Secretary General Miguel Abelairas at the CAS Headquarters in Lausanne on Friday.


Jannie du Plessis, who normally plies his trade as a doctor, will be acting as the 27-year-old's lawyer.


The news of the noble quest has captured the rugby universe, leading to the creation of the 'Free Francois Steyn' Facebook page, which had over 9000 likes at the time of writing.


The Twitterverse has also exploded, with #FFS trending in the Swiss capital and back in South Africa.

:lol:

I'm going to be honest. It had me going until I got to 'noble quest'.

 

[smartcooky]

I agree that punishment was justified/merited, but I don't understand why there's so much variance in the punishments dished out. That Liam Gill flip tackle looked pretty dangerous to me, and it got two weeks

Shaggy

Both players were charged at the Low End entry point of 4 weeks. Here are the reasons for the difference in the length of suspension

Liam Gill
[TEXTAREA]"Mitigating factors taken into account for determining final sanction include the player admitted the offence. He has an exemplary disciplinary record having never been cited before and has represented Australia at both U20 and Test level. His contribution to rugby in general has been outstanding and he clearly expressed remorse for committing the offence and for having tarnished his record with this incident. I considered a 50 per cent reduction in suspension was appropriate after taking these mitigating factors into account. As a result, a two-week sanction was considered to be appropriate.[/TEXTAREA]

Francois Steyn
The full judicial hearing details have not yet been published but I'll bet that he got the full four match suspension because there is no mitigation for previous good conduct (he has form) and no mitigation for remorse because he plead not guilty and defended his actions.