Walsh handed three-day ban

New Zealand referee Steve Walsh was today handed a one-match ban by World Cup chiefs following an altercation with a member of England’s management team.

The suspension began this afternoon, Australian time, and will expire on Monday morning.

Walsh, one of the world’s leading referees, was scheduled to be a touch judge at today’s Pool B game between France and the USA in Wollongong.

Rugby World Cup today stressed that Walsh will be available for selection beyond the pool stages.

England fitness adviser Dave Reddin was last night cleared by RWC independent judicial officer Brian McLaughlin over an alleged incident involving himself and the fourth official – Walsh – when England beat Samoa in Melbourne last Sunday.

“Following an incident involving the fourth official, Mr Steve Walsh, and a member of the England management team at the conclusion of the England versus Samoa match on Sunday, October 26, an investigation has taken place today,” said RWC, in a statement.

“Mr Walsh has subsequently been suspended for inappropriate behaviour during an exchange with a member of the England management team.

“He is suspended from 1400 Friday, October 31, 2003, until 0900 on Monday, November 3. It is recognised that the event occurred during a particularly difficult situation.

“Mr Walsh will be available for selection beyond the pool rounds.”

England head coach Clive Woodward, meanwhile, returned to Brisbane today in time for part of England’s Gold Coast training session, as they stepped up preparations for Sunday’s final Pool C game against Uruguay.

England received a relatively mild financial punishment over the Dan Luger 16th-man saga against Samoa, although Reddin’s penalty for sending Luger on to the field against fifth official Brett Bowden’s instructions was marginally greater.

While touchline bans are commonplace in soccer, such is the unusual nature of the sanction in rugby union, that it has not yet been confirmed whether Reddin will be allowed to carry out his customary pre-match warm-up with England’s players before the next two games against Uruguay and probably Wales.

Within 30 minutes of being informed of independent Rugby World Cup judicial officer Brian McLaughlin’s verdict, which followed a four-hour hearing at legal offices in central Sydney, the England camp confirmed they would accept their punishment.

They also expressed their delight that Reddin had been cleared of being involved in an altercation with fourth official Walsh at Melbourne’s Telstra Dome.

“I am just glad that it is over,” said Woodward, today.

“It has been a distraction. Some serious allegations were made against the team and myself, and we have now got to put a line under it, which we fully intend to do. This is not going to get in the way of our preparations, particularly the next game, which is only 48 hours away.

“It was an extremely fair hearing. I have to say that Brian McLaughlin, who is the judicial officer down there, conducted it in an exemplary fashion.

“In fact, from the moment we arrived in Sydney, things were handled very well and I have no complaints at all. It was extremely professionally run by the World Cup.

“I think that they (World Cup organisers) moved as quickly as they could, to be fair to them. They had to get various reports in from all sorts of people.

“We are obviously up at the Gold Coast, they are down in Sydney, and it happened as quickly as it could. It is not the time thing, it is the fact that it was handled in the proper manner, and I have to say that Brian McLaughlin did a very professional job.”

As a member of Woodward’s ’bench team’, Reddin was almost certainly carrying out orders delivered from the coaching staff in the stands when he ordered Luger on, even though fifth official Bowden had forbidden him to do so. It meant that England briefly had 16 players on the pitch.

“Both the RFU and Dave Reddin admitted they had been guilty of misconduct in ignoring the instructions of the number five match official (Bowden) by directing the England number 22 (Luger) on to the field of play,” said an International Rugby Board statement.

“In Reddin’s case, a range of mitigating factors were taken into account, but these were weighed against a number of factors, including the fact that the directions of the match official were ignored and the need to maintain the integrity of the match official.”