THE AFL advises the Match Review for the Sunday games of round two has been completed. Two charges were laid.

Charges Laid:

Jy Simpkin, North Melbourne, has been charged with Striking Lachie Whitfield, GWS GIANTS, during the fourth quarter of the Round Two match between the GWS GIANTS and North Melbourne, played at GIANTS Stadium on Sunday June 14.

In summary he can accept a $1000 sanction with an early plea.

Based on the available evidence, the incident was assessed as Careless Conduct, Low Impact and High Contact. The incident was classified as a $1500 sanction as a first offence. The player can accept a $1000 sanction with an early plea.

Luke Parker, Sydney Swans, has been charged with a second offence of Careless Contact with an Umpire during the third quarter of the Round Two match between the Sydney Swans and Essendon, played at the SCG on Sunday June 14.

In summary, he can accept a $750 sanction with an early plea.

Based on available evidence, the incident was assessed as Careless Contact with an Umpire. The incident was classified as a $1250 sanction as a second offence. The player can accept a $500 sanction with an early plea.

Bulldogs back Reimis Smith faces a one-match suspension after being hit with a grade one dangerous contact charge during his side’s 22-2 win over the Dragons at Bankwest Stadium on Monday. 

Ash Taylor, Sam Lisone and Waqa Blake also received grade one charges, but won’t miss any football. 

Smith was charged after making dangerous contact to the head/neck of Dragons winger Mikaele Ravalawa.

The 23-year-old has 30 carry over points and will cop a one match suspension with an early guilty plea or if he contests the charge and loses.

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He will likely be replaced in the starting side by Kerrod Holland, who started on the interchange bench against the Dragons. 

Smith scored a 70th minute try as the Bulldogs earned their first win of the 2020 season on Monday afternoon. 

Elsewhere, Parramatta’s Waqa Blake was charged with a grade one careless high tackle for a shot on Manly’s Danny Levi on Saturday night. 

Blake has a good record at the judiciary, so won’t face a suspension. 

The 25-year-old entered an early guilty plea and will be hit with a $550 fine. 

Taylor and Lisone were both charged with grade one dangerous contact to the head or neck during Gold Coast’s thrilling 28-23 win over the Tigers on Sunday. 

Neither player faces suspension or a fine. 

 

 

Sydney Roosters forward Victor Radley will contest a Grade 1 Dangerous Throw charge at the judiciary in a bid to play in Thursday’s match against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium.

Radley was charged over a 39th minute tackle on South Sydney’s Dane Gagai in last Friday night’s 28-12 win at  Bankwest Stadium.

If a successful case is put forward to the judiciary at Tuesday night’s hearing, which will be held via video conference, Radley will free to play but if found guilty he will receive 135 points demerit points and be suspended for one match.

An early guilty plea would have equated to a one match ban due to loading for a prior recent offence and 15 carry-over points,

Roosters prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves has entered an early guilty plea for a Grade 1 Careless High Tackle on Rabbitohs player Alex Johnston.

Waerea-Hargreaves received a $1600 fine and is available to play the Broncos.

Brisbane centre Kotoni Staggs will miss the match after entering an early plea for grade-two careless high tackle on Parramatta five-eighth Dylan Brown during last Thursday 34-6 loss at Suncorp Stadium.

The Grade 2 charge carried a two-game suspension for Staggs if found guilty, or a one-game suspension with an early plea, and he will returnfor the Round 5 clash with Manly at the Central Coast.

 

Player	Victor Radley
Club	Roosters
Time Minute of Match	39th
Charge/Incident	Dangerous throw
Charge Grade	1
7 years incident free discount?	No
Base penalty	100
Early plea	90
Guilty	120
Prior Similar Offences in last 2 years (50% loading)	0
Prior Non-Similar Offences in last 2 years (20% loading)	1
Carry-over points	15
Misconduct on whom?	Dane Gagai

 

Player	Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
Club	Roosters
Time Minute of Match	53rd
Charge/Incident	Careless high tackle
Charge Grade	1
7 years incident free discount?	No
Base penalty	$1500
Early plea	$1600
Guilty	$2100
Prior Similar Offences in last 2 years (50% loading)	0
Prior Non-Similar Offences in last 2 years (20% loading)	2
Carry-over points	N/A
Misconduct on whom?	Alex Johnston

 

Player	Kotoni Staggs
Club	Broncos
Time Minute of Match	61st
Charge/Incident	Careless high tackle
Charge Grade	2
7 years incident free discount?	No
Base penalty	200
Early plea	180
Guilty	240
Prior Similar Offences in last 2 years (50% loading)	0
Prior Non-Similar Offences in last 2 years (20% loading)	1
Carry-over points	15
Misconduct on whom?	Dylan Brown

 

Sydney Roosters forwards Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Victor Radley have both been charged by the NRL Match Review Committee following the  Round 3 match against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Waerea-Hargreaves received a Grade 1 Careless High Tackle after an incident with Rabbitohs winger Alex Johnston in the 53rd minute.

An early guilty plea will result in a monetary fine of $1,600.

Victor Radley was charged with a Grade 1 Dangerous Throw for an incident that occurred in the 39th minute on Rabbitohs player Dane Gagai.

Radley will be suspended for one match regardless of an early guilty plea.

A Dublin county footballer is facing trial accused of assaulting a player during a GAA match.

Cormac Costello, 25, with an address at Lorcan Crescent in Santry, Dublin, faces a charge of assault causing harm to Naomh Mearnog Gaelic footballer Aodan Fee on July 6 last year.

It allegedly happened when Mr Costello was a spectator at a game at Naomh Mearnog’s pitch in Portmarnock, in north Co. Dublin.

The All-Ireland star had been charged in recent weeks and his case was listed before Dublin District Court yesterday/today (MON).

However, the All-Ireland star did not have to attend due to the impact of covid-19 on the operation of the courts.

Judge John Cheatle was furnished with a certificate with the details of arrest and the charging procedure.

He was also told that the Director of Public Prosecutions has directed summary disposal, meaning the case should be dealt with at district court level, and not in the circuit court which has tougher sentencing powers.

However, he deferred ruling on the issue of jurisdiction.

The court’s presenting sergeant had made enquiries and was informed some medical reports were still awaited.

Defence solicitor Robert Purcell said his client had been charged at a city-centre station and but the incident allegedly happened in Portmarnock.

Judge Cheatle adjourned the case to Swords District Court on September 14 next when the case will be listed for mention.

He noted that the trial venue has yet to be decided, the medical report was outstanding and he excused the accused from appearing on the next date.

Judge Cheatle acceded to a request from Mr Purcell to make an order for disclosure of video evidence, statements and medical reports.

Mr Costello has not yet indicated how he will plead.

A DUBLIN gaelic footballer accused of assaulting a player during a match has been remanded on continuing bail.

ormac Costello (25), who was a spectator at a game when he allegedly struck the player, had the case against him adjourned in his absence at Dublin District Court.

Mr Costello, a key member of the county’s five-in-a-row winning team, was excused from attending court today amid ongoing restrictions due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The accused, with an address at Lorcan Crescent in Santry, is charged with assault causing harm to Aodan Fee at Naomh Mearnog GAA in Portmarnock on July 6 last year.

This afternoon, a garda sergeant handed evidence of Mr Costello’s arrest charge and caution in to court by certificate. She said she had served the accused’s solicitor with a written outline of the prosecution’s evidence.

The sergeant said the DPP had directed summary disposal of the case at district court level, subject to a judge considering the issue of jurisdiction. She said she was making enquiries to see if there was a medical report available.

Judge John Cheatle asked why the case was listed for Dublin District Court instead of Swords and Mr Robert Purcell said the alleged incident took place in Portmarnock but the accused had been charged in a city station.

Judge Cheatle adjourned the case to Swords District Court in September 14, for mention only, noting that the issue of jurisdiction was outstanding and a medical report awaited. Mr Costello was excused from attending.

Mr Purcell asked the judge to make a full disclosure order, to include video footage and statements.

The charge against Mr Costello is contrary to Section 3 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act and carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment on conviction on indictment.

The accused, who is the son of the county board’s CEO John Costello, was granted bail at Coolock Garda Station after he was charged there earlier this month.

He met gardai by appointment as part of the investigation into the alleged one-punch assault during the club match last July.

It is understood Mr Costello was in the crowd and not involved on the pitch during the Division 2 AFL game between his club Whitehall Colmcille and hosts Naomh Mearnog.

The game, a Saturday evening fixture on July 6, was being played in Portmarnock.

During the second-half an altercation occurred and a Naomh Mearnog player was allegedly punched once in the face.

The alleged victim suffered a cut lip and was bleeding.

He was treated for his injuries and a complaint was later made to gardai who launched an investigation into the incident.

It’s understood that as part of the inquiry gardai have also reviewed camera footage of the game.

Cormac Costello has won five All-Ireland Senior Football Championships with Dublin as well as seven Leinster titles and five National Football Leagues.

He was also a member of the All-Ireland winning U-21 team in 2014.

In his second senior football championship final he came off the bench against Mayo, scoring three points and playing a central role as Dublin claimed the Sam Maguire in the 2016 replay.

Online Editors

A key member of Dublin’s five-in-a-row winning All-Ireland team will appear in court next week in relation to an alleged assault during a GAA match.

The Irish Independent can reveal that star forward Cormac Costello faces a single count of assault causing harm after being station charged over the weekend.

The footballer was a spectator during a game last year when he allegedly struck a player in the face.

The first match-fixing case in Australian esports has led to some serious consequences. Five men between 20 and 27 years old are facing charges that carry maximum penalties of up to 10 years in jail. The charges stem from allegations of winning $30,000 by betting on fixed Counter-Strike: Global Offensive matches last March.

In August, the Victorian police issued a statement on the matter, noting that a betting agency had tipped off officers about players who were “arranging to throw” five matches during the Mountain Dew League in order to benefit from bets they’d placed. 

A 20-year-old from Mill Park in Melbourne has been charged with two counts of engaging in conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome, along with two counts of using corrupt conduct information for betting purposes. He was also charged with the possession of cannabis. Two other 20-year-old players from the same area, along with a 20-year-old from South Morang, were charged with three counts of using corrupt conduct information for betting purposes. The fifth man is a 27-year-old from Sale, who was charged with a whopping five counts of using corrupt conduct information for betting purposes. 

All five men will face court in Melbourne and Sale in September. 

A sixth man was arrested in August 2019, but it’s unclear why they were not charged with anything at this time. No names were released. 

CSGO match fixing is a serious crime

According to the original reporting, all five of the players involved in the match fixing had gone to the same high school and university. They were all from “normal suburban Melbourne families” and had no prior wrongdoing on their records. 

“We’ve got young men, typically 19 or 20-year-olds, who have no history with police,” assistant commisioner Neil Paterson stated. “They’re getting involved in [corruption] offenses at quite a young age that have serious consequences for them.” 

For Paterson, the number of young men involved in esports gambling, and gambling in general, has been a problem. He noted that he feels nothing is really being done to crack down on this spreading problem with young men in the area. 

Brazilian tennis player Joao Souza has been slapped with a lifetime ban by the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU).  He has been charged with multiple match-fixing and corruption offences.

In addition to the ban, a ban of $200,000 has also been imposed upon the Brazilian player.

What Has Joao Souza Been Charged For?

TIU conducted an investigation on the match-fixing allegations against Souza from the time period between 2015 and 2019. The said investigation established conclusively that Souza indulged in numerous breaches of the Tennis anti-corruption programme (TACP).

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These included repeated incidents of match-fixing at ATP challenger and ITF Futures tournaments which were held in Brazil, Mexico, The United States and the Czech Republic.

What Were The Other Charges On Souza?

However, this wasn’t all that Souza has been charged for. There are other serious allegations on the player.

TIU investigation has convicted him for three more offences. Firstly, he’s accused of failing to report his corrupt approaches.

Secondarily, he has failed to cooperate in the investigation conducted by TIU. This includes the extremely serious charge of destroying evidence. Thirdly, he has also been charged with motivating other players to underperform.

The case against Souza was heard by an anti-corruption hearing officer of the TIU named Prof Richard H. Mclaren. The disciplinary hearing against him was heard in London on 14 January 2020.

For those interested in understanding the implications of the ban, Joao Souza will be prevented from any sanctioned organized by any governing body in tennis.

Joao Souza hasn’t had much success as a tennis player. The Brazilian has reached as high as No 69 in the ATP men’s singles rankings. While in the doubles category, he has reached as high as no 70.

Currently, the player was ranked No 742 in ATP singles rankings.

What Is The Tennis Integrity Unit?

The Tennis Integrity Unit is the anti-corruption body responsible for enforcing zero tolerance to betting-related corruption. It is operationally independent and based in London.

However, it is jointly funded by the seven biggest stakeholders in tennis- International Tennis Federation, ATP, WTA, Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

The action by the TIU is commendable for the purpose of a sanitized sport in the future.