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Nigel Owens Critical Of Lack Of 'Consistency' In Reduced Mack Hansen Suspension

Nigel Owens Critical Of Lack Of 'Consistency' In Reduced Mack Hansen Suspension
Joshua Bell Curran
By Joshua Bell Curran Updated
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It's been nearly six weeks since Mack Hansen made controversial comments about refereeing in the aftermath of Connacht's December loss to Leinster, and nearly three weeks since the Irish wing was handed down a three-week suspension and a slew of other conditions.

While typically controversy like this blows away nearly as quickly as it blew in - Hansen's comments and the punishment that followed has proved so decisive that just days before the Six Nations gets underway the debate rages on.

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After Leinster's defeat of Connacht, Hansen had taken aim at the quality of refereeing Connacht were often subject to in the URC, and suggested that Connacht had been playing against 16 men in the fixture. After delivering the criticism, the Irish wing was then handed down a six week suspension reduced to three and ordered to apologise to referee Chris Busby and undertake media and referee training.

Since that ban was handed down, everyone from Joe Marler and Rob Kearney to Premiership and Six Nations referee Luke Pearce have had their say on the issue. With the Irish referee at the centre of the controversy Chris Busby even tempted to retire due to a host of issues including the saga.

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Nigel Owens hits out at reduction of Mack Hansen ban

Now, one of the, if not the leading voice on refereeing in the world Nigel Owens has weighed in on the situation, hitting out at how the suspension was handled by the independent disciplinary panel.

Owens was writing in his Wales Online column when he made the assessment, calling the reduction in the ban from six weeks to three weeks 'a joke' and calling on those involved to really examine how suspensions can be reduced so drastically.

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"One thing that really frustrates me about the whole situation is that Hansen was banned for six weeks, with three weeks suspended if he apologised to the referee and undertook an appropriate course related to match officiating" Owens said. 

I’m not commenting on how long a ban should have been given in the first place, but I am getting fed up with seeing so many suspensions halved or at least reduced due to a player saying sorry. If it’s an offence worthy of a six week suspension, it should be a six week suspension.

I’m not saying this is the case with Hansen at all, but it’s true that players can just say sorry and not mean it, just to get their ban reduced. It’s a joke, if you ask me.

Despite being involved in the assessment of referees for the URC, Owens revealed that he had not seen Busby's performance so couldn't pass judgment on it, but did stress that there was already robust systems in place for dealing with subpar refereeing and that the actions of Hansen stood to achieve little.

I know for a player like Hansen to come out after the full-time whistle and criticise the referee in that kind of fashion is not doing anybody any good.

This isn't the first time mitigating factors have been hot in the headlines either, with World Rugby's crackdown on head contact in recent years resulting in plenty of players being suspended only to have them drastically cut down for attending what has been coined 'tackle school'. Players also have suspensions reduced for a host of other factors on a regular basis, including previous good behaviour and showing remorse.

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While Owen's frustrations about the power of mitigating factors live on, this week was generally a positive one for those following the Hansen situation.

The wing not only travelled to Portugal with the Irish team ahead of the Six Nations but also received word that the courses he was handed down by the disciplinary panel would be reshaped into something more 'effective' and public-facing. Meanwhile, back in Dublin, Chris Busby who had been widely expected to lay down his whistle after the controversy, returned to URC action, manning the sideline in Leinster's win over the Stormers.

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