Sydney Roosters forward Angus Crichton is facing a two-game NRL suspension after being sin-binned in the Rugby League World Cup final.
Crichton was given 10 minutes on the sideline by referee Ashley Klein after he knocked Samoa hooker Chanel Harris-Tavita out cold during Saturday’s (Sunday AEDT) final with a raised forearm.
The Roosters back-rower apologised for the incident but Samoa coach Matt Parish was “dumbfounded” that Crichton hadn’t been dismissed.
Parish labelled Klein as “weak” and the tournament’s match review committee found in his favour, handing Crichton a two-game suspension.
If he chooses not to appeal the decision, Crichton will be forced to sit out the Roosters’ two opening games of the 2023 season when they take on NRL newcomers the Dolphins and the Warriors.
Chanel Harris-Tavita lays motionless in Manchester. (Photo by Dave Howarth – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Harris-Tavita said his last memory was Samoa’s pre-game Siva Tau.
“I didn’t even know we were playing in a final,” he told AAP. “They said we beat England last week and I couldn’t remember that.”
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Crichton apologised to the Warriors playmaker after the game.
“It was a reaction, I didn’t know he was coming,” Crichton said. “There was no malice in it at all. I apologised to him after the game and he knows that I didn’t try to injure him.
“I’m a good person who plays the game the way it is meant to be played.”
© AAP
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