David Jordan, tournament director of the RaboDirect PRO12, has reiterated the disciplinary procedures in relation to the citing process in the league at present, following comments made in some quarters after the Munster v Leinster match last Saturday.
The citing commissioners in all domestic competitions are selected on their independence and experience and appointed by the respective Unions.
In each of the RaboDirect PRO12 countries, independent citing commisssioners are appointed for matches, avoiding where possible the citing commissioner’s own club, province or region. This is similar to the French Top 14 and England’s Aviva Premiership.
David Jordan, the PRO12’s tournament director, explained: “The independent citing commissioners in the RaboDirect PRO12 attend the matches and take note of any indicators of possible foul play.
“They can then seek further information from TV, medical, team officials and players immediately after each game. The independent citing commissioner has a maximum of 48 hours from the final whistle, to notify the tournament disciplinary officer of a citing.
“The independent citing commissioner will have reviewed the match DVD, usually with extra TV angles, to confirm his decision.
“In the specific Munster v Leinster game last Saturday, the independent citing commissioner from Connacht considered all incidents and decided that there were no citings forthcoming, i.e. no incidents that would have warranted a red card.
“Last Monday morning, the disciplinary officer, tournament officials and team managers were notified of this decision and this was confirmed to the media upon enquiry.”
He added: “Only if the independent citing commissioner decides to cite, does the disciplinary officer have the option to refer the citing to an independent ‘gatekeeper’ for a second opinion.
“An independent judicial committee is appointed by the chairman of the independent RaboDirect PRO12 disciplinary panel to formally consider the citing normally later that same week.”
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