Los Pumas Player Sanctioned for "Intimidating Conduct" with Referee Against England

The fly-half of Los Pumas, Tomás Albornoz, was sanctioned with four match suspensions after admitting to misconduct charges before the World Rugby Disciplinary Committee. This was due to behavior at the end of the match between Argentina and England in Santiago del Estero during the Nations Championship on July 18, which ended in a 31-24 defeat for the locals.

With time running out, Bautista Delguy dove into the in-goal, grounded the ball, and scored a try for Argentina that could have tied the game. However, after a review of more than four minutes by the TMO, Brett Cronan, determined that the Argentine's arm had gone out of bounds before grounding the ball and disallowed the play. He also did not sanction a high tackle earlier that could have resulted in a penalty try.

The Australian referee, Angus Gardner, blew the final whistle and Albornoz approached him energetically to contest the decision or seek an explanation. In that action, he touched the referee's chest with one arm, the match official pushed his arm away, and the frustrated player shouted his arguments while pointing at him with his index finger. This sequence led to an investigation for the Argentine with a subsequent summons to testify. Under rule 18 of the regulations, the Disciplinary Committee determined that "his conduct, as a whole, was intimidating."

Felipe Contepomi did not call him up for the following matches against South Africa and Australia, knowing that with the disciplinary file open and World Rugby's history with similar situations, the fly-half would receive a sanction and would not be available.

World Rugby's Criteria for Sanctioning Tomás Albornoz

The Disciplinary Committee understood that, although the contact with the referee was limited, it occurred in the context of a complaint about a decision at the end of the match. For that reason, it was evaluated under Annex 1 of Regulation 17 as a situation of contact with a match official, which carries a suspension of six matches. Fortunately for the Argentine, the sanction he received was for four matches.

"I want to apologize to the match officials for the way I approached them. I understand that the manner was not correct, regardless of how I felt at that moment. I have already conveyed my apologies personally and will take this experience as a learning opportunity," declared the Tucumán native who received four match suspensions, although he did not accept that his conduct was abusive or threatening.

Which Matches Tomás Albornoz Will Miss

The sanction applies both at the national team level and at the club level, so he will not be available for Los Pumas on August 8 against South Africa, nor on August 29 and September 5 against Australia. With his club, Toulon in France, he will miss the match against Stade Rochelais in the Top 14.

Albornoz will be able to wear the Argentine jersey again during the November tour in Europe, when the national team faces Ireland on the 6th, Italy on the 14th, and France on the 21st of that month.