Rugby fans in New Zealand and beyond have been left confused and angry after Ireland's Andrew Porter escaped a red card for an incident that left Brodie Retallick with a broken cheekbone.
Porter looked to be in major trouble when he tackled the lock in an upright position in the 53rd minute, clashing heads. The incident saw the second row removed from the field for a HIA, which he ultimately failed. It later emerged he had broken his cheekbone.
Despite the severity of the injury, Porter was only shown a yellow because referee Wayne Barnes judged he had only "absorbed" the tackle, reducing the force of it. Porter has since been cited for the incident.
Barnes said: “Number one is upright, so we have got foul play. It is an absorbing tackle, not a dominant tackle, there is no mitigation, I have a yellow card, do you agree?”
When the TMO concurred, Ireland’s prop was sent to the bin for 10 minutes.
The Kiwis' ire is increased by the fact Angus Ta’avao was red-carded for a head collision with Ireland centre Garry Ringrose just a week earlier in the second Test.
Former Scotland international and TV pundit Jim Hamilton commented: "Brodie Retallick looks like he 'absorbed' that tackle by breaking his eye socket."
Another social media user described the decision as "madness" and "undefendable". Others described the inconsistency in decision-making as "staggering", while All Blacks coach Ian Foster, who now faces calls for his head after the 32-22 defeat, agreed with the suggestion it was another example of rugby's card lottery.
Former referee Paul Smith told RugbyPass : "Given that Retallick was unable to continue, we can presumably safely assume that a level of force was involved despite the fact that Porter was going backwards when the contact was made.
"Was Barnes correct to downgrade to a yellow? Was Peyper correct to show red (last week)? For me, under the existing protocol the incidents were so similar that the outcome had to be identical – a red card."
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