Overview
- World Rugby announced Wednesday that a disciplinary committee suspended Tomás Albornoz for four matches for intimidatory conduct toward referee Angus Gardner after Argentina's July 18 loss to England.
- The committee said Albornoz approached the referee on two occasions, made limited physical contact while disputing a TMO decision, threw the ball on the ground after the final whistle, and was restrained by teammates.
- The ban covers Argentina v South Africa on August 8, Argentina v Australia on August 29 and September 5, and Toulon v Stade Rochelais on September 12.
- The committee reduced the sanction from a six-match entry point to four because Albornoz admitted the misconduct early, agreed to public and private written apologies, and had a previously clean disciplinary record.
- The decision applied Regulation 18 and referenced Appendix 1 to Regulation 17, showing that contact with a match official can trigger multi-competition suspensions and that early admission and apologies are accepted mitigating factors.