Three-week ban for Turnbull, but O’mahony is free to play

JOSH Turnbull has been handed a three-week ban following his red card for Cardiff Blues against Zebre last Friday night.

The back-rower was sent off after 43 minutes of the 16-6 win after his shoulder made contact with the head of Maxime Mbanda in a tackle.

It’s now been confirmed that Turnbull won’t be available for the region until November 3, after he was deemed to have committed an act of foul play.

The judiciary hearing concluded the act warranted a mid-range offence, and the actions of the player were not deliberate, but reckless.

Also, Turnbull’s acknowledgement of the offence, compliance throughout the process and remorse shown resulted in the entry point of a six-week ban being halved following mitigation.

The tackle itself sparked a mixed reaction on social media, with some deeming the red card to be “crazy”.

The ban itself is unlikely to go down well with fans, especially given Munster flanker Peter O’mahony will be free to play this weekend despite being sent off against the Scarlets last Saturday.

The Ireland international was sent off at Parc y Scarlets for two yellow cards.

Referee Sam Grove-white showed O’mahony a yellow in the first half for not using his arms when he looked to counter-ruck as the Scarlets prepared to box kick, while his second yellow was for tucking his arm as he fell into Scarlets lock Jake Ball just after Munster’s Chris Farrell had scored a try.

A statement from the PRO14 said: “The judicial officer, Sheriff Kathrine Mackie, Scotland, found after referring to the methodology in the disciplinary rules and the application of mitigating and aggravating features, that the sending off was sufficient.

“The player is available for selection on Saturday.”