Axelle Berthoumieu Appeals Suspension for Biting Irish Player
French player Axelle Berthoumieu admitted to biting Ireland’s Aoife Wafer during the Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final, but appealed her 12-match suspension on Monday. French captain Manaé Feleu is also appealing a three-match suspension, which could rule her out of the World Cup semi-final against England and the final or third-place play-off. Berthoumieu’s admission occurred at a foul play review hearing. The panel said it accepted that his bite merited a red card and that the off-field citation was justified. No action was taken against her on the field at that time. Wafer accused Berthoumieu of biting his arm during France’s 18-13 victory on Sunday in Exeter. The referee referred it to the Television Match Official to review the images. World Rugby said in a statement: “Upon reviewing the matter live, the TMO was unable to determine clear and obvious foul play and did not have the presentation of additional evidence to corroborate.” Berthomieu was cited after the match by the citation commissioner.
Berthomieu appealed the length of the 12-match suspension, which would rule her out of the rest of the World Cup and prevent her from playing until March 1st. Your appeal will be heard on Tuesday. The 25-year-old player, Berthomieu, has 27 international matches since her debut in 2019, including France’s four matches in this World Cup, the first for her. Feleu, who leads Les Bleues in their second World Cup, was cited for a dangerous tackle that was not sanctioned on the field. In her hearing, she accepted that there was foul play, but did not believe it warranted a citation. But the panel found her guilty of head-to-head contact at high speed without mitigation. Your appeal will also be heard on Tuesday against a suspension that threatens to be a major blow to France’s title hopes.Although the player acknowledged the foul play and expressed remorse, full mitigation was not granted due to the severity of the player’s actions and the fact that the player had the opportunity not to continue with the action.
World Rugby
