Phoenix Battye found Not Guilty of Law 10.4 (j)
A SANZAR Judicial Hearing has found Phoenix Battye of the Western Force not guilty of contravening Law 10.4 Lifting a Player from the ground and either dropping or driving that Player’s head and/or upper body into the ground whilst the Player’s feet are off the ground, after he was cited during a Super Rugby match at the weekend.
No sanction has been imposed on the player.
The incident occurred in the 75th Minute of the match between the Western Force and Reds in Perth at NIB Stadium on 31st March 2012.
The SANZAR Judicial Hearing held via video conference on Monday 2nd of April was heard by Paul Tully.
In considering the matter, new evidence was presented by the Western Force that was not available to the Citing Commissioner. This evidence showed that despite Battye lifting Will Genia, he neither dropped nor drove Genia’s head or upper body into the ground. The evidence demonstrated in fact he was protecting the player by bracing himself with his arms and knees so as to prevent the potential for injury to the player. In the end the tackle could not be seen as dangerous as required by the law for the Citing to be upheld.
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