LAST night, Wakefield Trinity forward Hugo Salabio was slapped with a seven-match ban following a Grade F Spear Tackle.
Though Salabio was absent from the Operational Rules Tribunal, Wakefield chief executive Michael Carter and head coach Mark Applegarth were present.
Neither man challenged the grading nor defended the tackle, but they did offer background into Salabio, as well as explaining that there was no malice involved in the tackle.
From the minutes, Carter’s argument was that Salabio “is a young player making his way in the game” as he attempts to earn a Super League deal for 2024 and beyond.
As a result, Carter’s argument was that because there are only 13 games left of the Super League season, any suspension should be to the lower end of Grade F at six matches
Applegarth, in turn, backed up Carter as well as adding that the Frenchman had “a split-second to try complete the tackle and had mistimed it”.
Wakefield agreed with the Grade F, but Applegarth again explained why the ban should be six matches.
However, the seven-match suspension was given out because:
– Vulnerability of the opponent.
– The highly dangerous action of the player.
– The potentially serious implications that a tackle of this nature may have. No mitigation that the opponent did not sustain an injury.
– Players have a duty of care to their opponent.
The Tribunal did however accept that Salabio “is a young player who has no previous disciplinary issues neither here nor in France where he has been playing in the French Elite 1 competition. It was also accepted that there was no malice or intent. It was a particularly bad tackle and the player simply “got it wrong”.”
The Tribunal also felt that Salabio went from attacker to defender in a quick fashion after dropping the ball, with barely a second to make a decision.
