The images – violent – circulated widely on social networks. During the defeat of Bristol (27-10), Friday, on the lawn of Connacht, the second row of the Bears, Josh Caulfield, had violently stomped on the face of his opponent, Finlay Bealham, who was on the ground in a ruck . The referee of this meeting on the fourth and final day of the group stage, Frenchman Pierre Brousset, immediately excluded the 26-year-old player, a former England U20 international. For this type of bad gesture, the scale established by World Rugby is a suspension which can range from 2 to 52 weeks.
But, in a twist this Tuesday, Josh Caulfield’s red card was simply canceled by an independent disciplinary committee. A decision which will not cause much ink to be spilled… The independent Disciplinary Commission was made up of Paul Thomas (Wales), president, Marcello D’Orey (Portugal) and Stefan Terblanche (South Africa) . The Bristol player “did not admit to having committed an act of unfair play”, specifies the EPCR in a press release.
In this same press release, the body which organizes the competition announces: “The Commission has determined that Caulfield had committed an act of foul play. However, she felt the offense did not merit a red card. The red card decision was therefore overturned. Caulfield can play again immediately and EPCR has the right to appeal the decision.” Sixth and last in Pool 1, Bristol is eliminated from all EPCR competitions, while Connacht (5th) snatched their ticket to the round of 16 of the Challenge Cup.