Lomani receives 6 week suspension
"The Player was given a discount for entering an early guilty plea (and other relevant mitigating factors), reducing the suspension from 10 weeks to 6 weeks. The Player is therefore suspended up to and including 26 May 2024.”
Wednesday 10 April 2024 | 12:53
Fijian Drua's Frank Lomani was flashed a red card after he elbowed a Rebels player during their Super Rugby match last Friday in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Planet Rugby
Fijian Drua halfback Frank Lomani will not be available until the final round of the regular season after receiving a six week suspension.
Lomani elbowed Josh Canham during the defeat to the Melbourne Rebels at AAMI Park, receiving a red card. He was assessed at the top-end range, with his sentence reduced after an early guilty plea.
"Having conducted a detailed review of all the available evidence, including all camera angles and additional evidence, including from the player and submissions, the Foul Play Review Committee upheld the Red Card and found the Player to have contravened Law 9.12," FPRC Chairman Stephen Hardy ruled.
Fijian Drua Frank Lomani. Photo: Fijian Drua
“The Foul Play Review Committee emphasised that had there been more forceful head contact made, the entry point may well have been higher than low-end. The entry point for the offence is 6 weeks.
The Foul Play Review Committee applied a discount of 3 weeks for entering an early guilty plea (and other relevant mitigating factors including the Player’s otherwise unblemished disciplinary record), reducing the suspension from 6 weeks to 3 weeks.
"Further, where a matter is determined to be low-end offending, there are off-field mitigating factors, and the sanction would be wholly disproportionate to the level and type of offending involved, a sanction below 50% of the sanction may apply.
"To that end, the Foul Play Review Committee considered a sanction of 3 weeks would have been wholly disproportionate to the level and type of offending involved, and applied a further reduction of 1 week to the sanction, resulting in a total sanction of 2 weeks.”
The Player will only miss next week's clash with the Hurricanes.
Source: rugby.com.au
