Dean Mumm suspended for one week

Oct 24 • General News, International • 1556 Views • Comments Off on Dean Mumm suspended for one week

The appointed Duty Judicial Officer Robert Stelzner SC has accepted a guilty plea from Dean Mumm of Australia for contravening Law 10.4 (a) A player must not strike an opponent with the fist or arm, including the elbow, shoulder, head or knee(s), after he was Cited during the Bledisloe Cup match at the Weekend.

Mumm has been suspended from all forms of the game for 1 match up to and including Saturday 5 November 2016.

The incident occurred in the 52nd minute of the match between New Zealand and Australia played at Eden Park, Auckland on 22 October 2016.

Duty Judicial Officer Robert Stelzner SC assessed the case. In his finding, Mr Stelzner SC ruled the following:

“Having conducted a detailed review of all the available evidence including submissions from his legal representative, I accepted the player’s admission that he had committed an act of foul play contrary to law 10.4(a).

“With respect to sanction I deemed the act of foul play merited a low-end entry point of two weeks. Part of the reasoning was that the player acted instinctively in retaliation to his being illegally held back by his opponent upon trying to rejoin play. His opponent was behind him when he tried to extricate himself from his opponent’s grip and in that process struck his opponent in the face with his elbow. The injury, which his opponent suffered as a result of the incident, did not prevent his opponent from playing on at the time of the incident.

“However, taking into account mitigating factors including the player’s early plea and his excellent disciplinary record, I reduced the suspension to a period of one week.”

“The player accepted my indication of sanction of one week, and is therefore suspended from all forms of rugby up to and including 5 November 2016 when he is next scheduled to play. Given that the Australian team is only scheduled to play on 5 November 2016 and in order for the sanction to be meaningful, I advised that I considered suspension up to and including 5 November 2016 (which would mean the player would not be eligible for selection for the forthcoming test against Wales) to be an appropriate sanction. The player is free to resume playing from 6 November 2016.”

Duty Judicial Officer: Robert Stelzner SC
Player: Dean Mumm
Team: Australia
Position: Flanker
Date of Incident: 22 October 2016
Nature of Offence: Law 10.4 (a) A player must not strike an opponent with the fist or arm, including the elbow, shoulder, head or knee(s)
Elapsed time in match when incident occurred: 52:40