Will Skinner of Harlequins faces a disciplinary hearing today following the red card he received during Quins’ Heineken Cup victory over Toulouse on Sunday. It was the second similar incident of the game, prompting the swift ‘sending off’.
Tension was rife as early on in this fascinating game as one of the Harlequins sideline staff touched the ball deliberately, preventing the home side from taking a quick throw-in, much to the disgust of the fans, and referee Alain Roland.
He was warned and later in the game when a similar thing happened with Skinner, Roland marched over and brandashed the red card, bizarrely sending Skinner – who had already been substituted – to the changeroom.
To add to the amusement, Skinner appeared just minutes later as Quins celebrated a famous win. The incidents didn’t do their reputation any good though, especially after they had done so well to stay on the straight and narrow since bloodgate a few years back.
Skinner, a former captain of Harlequins, will attend a disciplinary hearing in Dublin after he was charged by the ERC as having committed an act contrary to good sportsmanship, “in that he played the match ball illegally in the technical zone”. The incident earlier in the game is reportedly also being investigated.
Below is a short clip from the game that features both incidents in the host language, French.
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