Pumas support Galarza and will appeal ban
‘ There is no evidence of a situation of illicit play on the part of the player
ARGENTINA fully support lock Mariano Galarza, who has been suspended for nine weeks for eye gouging at the Rugby World Cup, and will appeal against a decision they consider wrong, the Argentine Rugby Union (UAR) said yesterday.
Galarza was declared guilty at a hearing on Wednesday of “contact with the eye or eye area” of New Zealand lock Brodie Retallick during Argentina’s 26-16 defeat by the holders at Wembley on Sunday.
“[The UAR board] fully supports what Mariano Galarza said and this UAR maintained at the [disciplinary] hearing held yesterday that there is no evidence of a situation of illicit play on the part of the player,” the UAR said in a statement on the eve of the Pumas’ second Pool C match against Georgia in Gloucester.
Argentina are awaiting written notification of the sanction in order to appeal against it within the permitted 48-hour period and believe they can prove it bears no relation to what happened in the match.
“The Pumas squad, coaching staff and UAR board have full faith in the honesty, loyalty and respect towards the game and all its participants of the player, as irrefutably proved by his impeccable career on and off the playing field,” the statement said.
Galarza’s suspension took effect immediately, leaving the Pumas with only three recognised locks, one of whom, Guido Petti, misses the Georgia match after a head knock sustained in scoring Argentina’s try on Sunday.
As well as missing the rest of the Rugby World Cup, Galarza will be unavailable for his English club Gloucester until the ban ends on November 26.
Galarza took the decision badly and was in tears when reunited with his wife after the hearing, sources said.
They said Retallick, who also attended the hearing, said there was no intention on Galarza’s part to hurt him and that New Zealand’s team doctor had said an eye injury the citing officer had spotted on the match video was from a previous training session.
Argentina’s players and coaching staff were stunned by the ban but can be expected to make it work in their favour against Georgia in a match they must win if they are to reach the knockout phase.
At the 1999 World Cup, prop Roberto Grau was banned for three weeks for an incident during their opening defeat by hosts Wales. The Pumas went on to reach the quarterfinals for the first time. – Reuters