PARIS, 21 October - Following an RWC 2007 judicial hearing, the judicial officer, Jannie Lubbe SC, determined to uphold the citing complaint in respect of France's Raphaël Ibanez. The player accepted the act of illegal and/or foul play namely that he acted in contravention of Law 10.4(b) by stamping on the Argentina number 4, Rimas Álvarez Kairelis.
The judicial officer further determined, having reviewed the referee's reasons for his decision to award a yellow card for the incident, that the reasons for the decision were wrong.
The judicial officer further determined that the offence should be categorised at the lower entry level and to impose a one-week suspension upon the player with effect from 19 October, 2007 to and including 27 October, 2007.
The excellent disciplinary record and character of the player, who has played 98 Test matches for France, captained France during the 1999 and 2007 Rugby World Cups and who has never in his career appeared before a disciplinary body, his immediate acknowledging of culpability and the genuine remorse of the player and taking also into account the player's playing commitments for the rest of 2007, persuaded the judicial officer to reduce the recommended sanction of two weeks to one week which will effectively result in a one match suspension.
The player has 48 hours to appeal the decision.
RNS dk/gs
