Mihai Macovei
Romanian captain Mihai Macovei will miss his country’s pivotal final Pool D match with Italy on Sunday after being suspended for a fortnight for a dangerous tackle.
The 28-year-old loose forward was hailed as a hero earlier in the week for his 2 tries in Romania’s superb comeback from 0 / 15 down to beat Canada 17 / 15 and set his team up for Sunday’s match where the winner will seal 3rd place and automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup.
However, he fell foul of the citing commissioner and has now been found guilty of a dangerous tackle during the Canada match.
“Mihai Macovei has been suspended for 2 weeks for a dangerous tackle contrary to Law 10(4)(e),” read the statement from the disciplinary commission.
“In its Memorandum on “Dangerous tackles, dangerous grasping of neck and / or head area of player not in possession of the ball and dangerous grasping / holding of ball carrier above the line of the shoulders” dated 22 May 2015, World Rugby stated “this type of dangerous play which is foul play must be dealt with severely by match officials and all those involved in the disciplinary process.”
“With respect to the sanction, the Judicial Officer deemed the act of foul play merited a low-end entry point of 2 weeks.
“The judicial officer added 1 week for aggravation due to the need to deter this type of dangerous foul play. However, taking into account mitigating factors including his conduct prior to and at the hearing and predominantly clear disciplinary record, the judicial officer reduced the suspension to a period of 2 weeks.”
The effect is that Macovei, who can resume playing on 19 October, is suspended for Romania’s last match against Italy on 11 October and his 1st match following the tournament with his club Colomiers in France.
Macovei denied committing an act of foul play and has 48 hours in which to appeal.
His suspension is a big blow to Romania coach Lynn Howells as another experienced loose forward, Ovidiu Tonita, is also unavailable after suffering a tournament ending injury in the 10 / 44 defeat by Ireland.
Romania trail Italy – whose sole win came in an edgy 23 / 18 victory over Canada – by a point, going into the game.
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