Eben Etzebeth was sin-binned in his first game back after over four months on the sidelines following a scuffle with Scotland international Sam Skinner.
The Springboks great, along with Skinner, was yellow carded at the start of the second period with the Sharks 13-10 in front against Edinburgh in the Scottish capital.
With the visitors defending their own line, Etzebeth, who was playing his first match since December, grabbed hold of the ball after it had gone loose and then Skinner. At the same moment, referee Andrew Brace blew for a penalty with the hosts playing under advantage.
The South African second-row took exception to his Scottish counterpart grabbing his shirt back, throwing the 30-year-old to the ground.
Harsh yellow?
That duly started a scuffle as players from both teams piled in. Etzebeth was unsurprisingly yellow carded, but he was joined in the bin – perhaps harshly – by Skinner.
Brace explained his decision at the time by saying: “What’s just happened there is completely unacceptable. I spoke to you in the first half that the next two players getting involved go to the bin.
“Off you go, and off you go Eben.”
The two players then exchanged words as they exited the field, with Etzebeth pushing his opposite number away.
Despite Brace’s explanation, many felt that the Springbok was the instigator and that the Scotland second-row was unfortunate to be yellow-carded.
“That’s just weak. It doesn’t take more than a cursory glance at that to see that Etzebeth started it all and he’s the cause. That’s not two yellows, it’s one, but we get the usual weak officiating,” a fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
One person stated, “joke of a decision from Brace, it’s clearly all on EE,” before another added: “Mental to yellow Skinner, he got grabbed then thrown by Etzebeth, then gets yellowed.”
There were plenty of supporters who were frustrated by the call, with one person writing, “The ref is looking right at it – pathetic.”
Key win for Sharks
Edinburgh would take advantage of Etzebeth’s absence by touching down almost immediately after his sin-binning.
That moved the Scotsmen 17-13 in front, a lead they held until the latter stages, but a try for Makazole Mapimpi would win the game for the Sharks and take them closer to securing a home quarter-final in the URC.
“It’s two teams that are desperate. Obviously, they want to finish in the top-eight, we’re still trying to climb the table a little bit, but it was a great game and great to have everyone back,” Etzebeth told Premier Sports after the match.
“It was not a perfect performance but we will definitely take the win.
“With this win we’re almost guaranteed a home quarter but we still want to climb the ladder, although a few other results must go our way with Glasgow and the Bulls.
“Leinster’s out of sight but we’ll just take it game by game and try and get some momentum going into the play-offs.”
On his return to action, the lock said: “It’s great, it’s been a long time. It’s nice to get back out on the field. I’ve been on the training pitch with the guys for the last couple of weeks.
“Finally getting a chance again, I was excited to play. We all know it’s the business end of the season so games are becoming more and more important.”
READ MORE: Eben Etzebeth among TWELVE Springboks in Sharks starting XV for Edinburgh clash
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/eben-etzebeth-instigates-unacceptable-incident-with-scotland-international-on-first-game-back-as-referee-makes-pathetic-call
