England’s Charlie Ewels attended a hearing before an independent Disciplinary Committee on 23 June 2024 for an offence contrary to Law 9.20(a) (dangerous charging in a ruck) in England’s Summer Series match against Japan in Tokyo on 22 June 2024.
The independent Disciplinary Committee was chaired by Shao-ing Wang (Singapore), joined by former international players David Croft (Australia) and John Langford (Australia).
The player accepted that foul play had occurred but maintained that the offence did not warrant a red card.
Having considered all the available evidence, the submissions by the player and his representative, and all available camera angles, the independent Committee determined that the red card was warranted.
The Committee considered the degree appropriate entry point for the offending and decided that the offence warranted a low-end entry point of 2 matches. Having considered submissions as regards mitigation, the Committee did not apply mitigation to the sanction resulting in a final sanction of 2 matches.
The player is therefore suspended for the following matches:
- New Zealand v England – 6 July 2024
- New Zealand v England – 13 July 2024
The player has the right of appeal within 48 hours of the issuing of the full written decision, which will be published here in due course.
Visit World Rugby’s dedicated disciplinary process education and information page here, which includes a video on how rugby’s disciplinary process works.
