Disciplinary Decision: Tom O'Toole

The Disciplinary process related to Tom O'Toole's Red Card in the BKT United Rugby Championship Round 8 game against Munster on Friday, December 20 has resulted in a six game suspension.

After an act of foul play by Ulster player No 3 (Tom O'Toole), referee Ben Whitehouse showed the Player a Red Card in the 31st minute of the game under Law 9.20e – Dangerous play in a ruck or maul. A player must not drop their weight onto an opponent or target the lower limbs.

In the Player’s responses to the Judicial Officer overseeing the disciplinary process (Sheriff Kathrine Mackie, Scotland), he had accepted that he had committed an act of foul play which warranted a Red Card. Sheriff Mackie found that the incident met the Red Card threshold, with entry point of top end warranting ten weeks. The Player received four weeks (40%) mitigation for his admission of foul play, immediate apology and again post-match. The Munster player No 12 (Alex Nankivell) was unable to continue to play and with further assessment it was confirmed he injured his hamstring tendon. Due to the Player receiving another Red Card for foul play in 2022, not all mitigating factors were applied. This results in a six game suspension.

Fixtures Tom O'Toole is unavailable for:

Connacht v Ulster, 28 December 2024, BKT URC

Leicester v Ulster, 11 January 2025, Investec Champions Cup

Ulster v Exeter Chiefs, 17 January 2025, Investec Champions Cup

Ulster v Zebre Parma, 26 January 2025, BKT URC

Ireland v England, 1 February 2025, Guinness Six Nations

Scotland v Ireland, 8 February 2025, Guinness Six Nations