Ardie Savea has been suspended for one week after being cited for his ‘throat slit’ gesture during a Super Rugby match between the Hurricanes and Rebels.

The Hurricanes No 8 was yellow carded towards the end of the first half of the match, after a scuffle broke out between the two teams. When making his way off the field, he drew his thumb across his throat towards a Rebels player.

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The incident sparked a massive debate on social media, with many suggesting Savea’s yellow should have been upgraded to a red card.

While Savea apologised immediately after the game, his actions still earned him a disciplinary hearing after the match’s citing commissioner decided it fell within the red card threshold.

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The Sanzaar judicial committee deemed that act worthy of a warning, but decided against the citing commissioner’s recommendation of a red card.

Due to the fact that Savea got a warning from the same game in which he was yellow-carded for a separate incident, the judicial committee suspended Savea for one game.

In his finding, Nigel Hampton KC ruled the following:
 
“The Foul Play Review Committee conducted a detailed review of all the available evidence, and oral submissions from his legal representative, Mr Aaron Lloyd.”
 
With respect to sanction the Foul Play Review Committee ruled, after considering a number of factors, including the guidance of World Rugby Regulation 17 Appendix 4, and due to the nature of the Player’s persistent offending, with both the Yellow Card and the Warning being issued for unsportsmanlike play, that an appropriate sanction for the Player would be a suspension of 1 week.”
 
“That was accepted by the player, and the player is therefore suspended for 1 week, up to and including Saturday 11 March 2023.”

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