photo: CA Brive Corrèze

Argentines see red in busy weekend of European club rugby

Two Argentine backs were red carded this weekend during the European Champions Cup and Challenge Cup matches. Both players were sent-off with plenty of time left in their respective matches. They are likely to be suspended in the coming days.

Juan Cruz Mallía was red carded for making contact with a player in the air. The contact was deemed foul play; it was dangerous and it was referred to as reckless as he was not in a position to catch the ball.

The incident occurred early on in the match. Toulouse were playing at home against Ulster. The red card meant that Toulouse were down to 14-men with 70 minutes of the match left to play.

In terms of time, Axel Muller’s red card was the opposite of Mallía’s. The winger from Mendoza was red carded in the 70th minute. Brive were playing at home against Saracens and were already beaten. When Muller made shoulder to head contact, Brive were 41-5 behind.

The incident involved Muller leading with his shoulder and making a no-arms-tackle to the head of a Saracens player. Unlike the case of Mallía, there was never any discussion as to whether foul play had taken place.

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Formally created in June 2015, this website's goal is to increase media exposure of the Tier 2 rugby nations, and create a hub with a focus on the stories of rugby in the Americas - North, Central and South.

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