Mid Canterbury hooker James Carr has been cleared of a red card charge following his team’s AA Rewards Heartland Championship match against West Coast in Ashburton on Saturday 27 September.

Carr appeared before Judicial Officer Nigel Hampton QC in Christchurch today after being sent off for an alleged late shoulder charge in the 71st minute of the match.

Carr was represented by Mid Canterbury CEO Ian Patterson.  At the hearing Mr Hampton also viewed video footage of the incident and received verbal reports from match referee Kane McBride.

Under the rules which govern the manner in which a Judicial Officer is required to deal with foul play which has been seen and dealt with by match officials on the field of play, the Judicial Officer may only intervene if he concludes that the referee’s reasons for dealing with the incident in the manner he did were wrong.

Mr Hampton said the referee had accepted that the shoulder charge as a stand-alone offence did not warrant a red card as it was not that serious.  Mr Hampton also said while there had been a number of transgressions committed by the Mid Canterbury players earlier in the match, the referee also hadn’t issued a general caution to the team prior to the sending off.

Taking all matters into account, the referee’s decision to red card was set aside, and no further action was taken against Carr.

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