Connacht Captain Butler Receives Three-Match Ban

Connacht captain Jarrad Butler has been banned for a period of three weeks as a result of his red card during last Saturday’s Guinness PRO14 match against Edinburgh in Galway.

Butler was sent off by IRFU referee Chris Busby under law 9.13– a player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously.

Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.

The disciplinary process for the red card offence was presided over by judicial officer Achille Reali (FIR) who concluded that a mid-range offence had occurred, which carries a six-week suspension.

Having considered the match footage of the incident involving Edinburgh’s Andrew Davidson, injury details, Butler’s disciplinary record and expression of remorse, a reduction of three weeks was applied by the judicial officer.

The Connacht skipper is suspended from participating in the next three meaningful matches.

Should a game be cancelled or postponed during this window of games, Butler and PRO14 are to submit updated fixtures to the disciplinary panel so the return date can be advised.

The following fixtures are relevant to the playing ban notice above. ‘A’ team fixtures arranged by a union with the specific intent to prepare players for first-team games are considered as meaningful.

– Guinness PRO14 round 16: Scarlets v Connacht (Monday, March 22)

– European Challenge Cup: Leicester Tigers v Connacht (Friday, April 2) and Connacht ‘A’ v tbc

– European Challenge Cup quarter-final: Connacht v tbc (April 9/10/11) or Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup round 1