Opponent bites: mega disqualification for rugby’s Azzurra

Mega disqualification for Sara Tounesi

The second line of the Italian Women’s National Team, Sara Tounesi, has been disqualified for 12 games. The Italian athlete appeared before an independent judicial committee after being cited for biting an opponent (Law 9.12) in Italy’s match against Japan in Group B of the Rugby World Cup on Oct. 23, 2022.

The independent disciplinary panel was chaired by independent judicial panel chairman Christopher Quinlan KC, who was joined by judicial officer Brenda Heather-Latu (Samoa) and former international player Ofisa Tonu’u (New Zealand).

In detail, it states that “The Committee considered all the evidence, including that provided by both players and video footage of the incident. The Committee concluded that Tounesi bit a Japanese player, an action that would have been deserving of a red card, and accordingly upheld the citation. The Committee, after an initial request for 18 games, assessed mitigating circumstances and reduced the penalty to 12 games.”