Ulster rugby player Tom O'Toole has been handed a six-game suspension after being red carded for foul play. He will miss crucial matches for both Ulster and Ireland, including the Six Nations opener.
Tom O'Toole will miss Ireland's first two Six Nations games against England and Scotland - plus Ulster 's final two Champions Cup games - due to a ban. URC disciplinary chiefs have slapped a six-game suspension on the tighthead after he was red carded in Ulster 's home defeat to Munster on December 20. O'Toole was dismissed in the 31st minute at the Kingspan Stadium after referee Ben Whitehouse ruled that he had dropped his weight onto Alex Nankivell’s exposed leg at a ruck under Law 9.20e.
Nankivell had to come off soon after with an injured hamstring tendon. Ulster boss Richie Murphy later argued that the decision was 'tough' on O'Toole, but a URC disciplinary committee disagreed and O'Toole conceded to the committee that he had committed an act of foul play that warranted the red card. The judicial officer, Sheriff Kathrine Mackie, found that the incident met the red card threshold. The entry point of top end is 10 weeks but O'Toole received four weeks mitigation for his admission of foul play, his immediate apology and a further apology that he made after the game. However because O'Toole was also red-carded for foul play against Toulouse in 2022, that was as far as the mitigation went in the case this time. He already served the first of the six-game ban against Connacht on December 28 but will miss the trip to Leicester on Saturday and the home tie against Exeter Chiefs the following Friday in the Champions Cup, followed by the home URC fixture against Zebre on January 26. O'Toole will then sit out Ireland's first two Six Nations games, with the URC stating that they received confirmation from Ireland's interim head coach Simon Easterby that the 26-year-old has been a constant member of the Test squad since 202
Rugby Tom O'toole Six Nations Ulster Disciplinary Ban
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