The 20-minute red card is the new rugby law that has been introduced for the Autumn Internationals but what is it?
The men’s Autumn Internationals will see the first use of the new 20-minute red card law in the northern hemisphere.
Introduced by World Rugby, the new sanction is set to offer officials an option between the yellow card, a sin-bin where the offending player spend 10 minutes off the pitch, and the permanent red card.
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How does the 20-minute red card work?
The the new 20-minute red card rule in place, if a referee shows an offending player a red card, that player will still be punished and forced to leave the pitch for the remainder of the game.
However, when the 20-minute period has passed, the team can replace him with a teammate.
Referees will be encouraged to use the new 20-minute red card for technical offences such as accidental head collisions that breach the yellow card threshold but are not deemed ‘deliberate and dangerous’ foul play.
What will the existing red card be used for?
For now, referees will still be able to use the traditional red card for ‘dangerous and deliberate’ foul play incidents.
However a consultation between referees and World Rugby on 14 November will discuss the idea of the 20-minute red card becoming the only red card available.
This change was introduced by World Rugby through a recent review of the disciplinary processes “through the prism of audience engagement, while reducing administrative burden.”
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World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont added” “It is important to remember that the ability to replace a red-carded player after 20 minutes is coupled with sanctions that are strong, clear and will not be mitigated down. This supports consistency and agility, by making the disciplinary process less influenced by lawyers.”
Both the Irish and French rugby unions have come out against the proposal, calling it a ‘backwards step’ and arguing that the option of a permanent red card must remain to protect players from deliberate and dangerous acts of foul play.
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