Leinster prop Tadhg Furlong has been cited for an alleged incident with an opponent during Saturday’s victory over Munster.
In the 37th minute of the URC clash, it was claimed by Munster number eight Gavin Coombes that he had been grabbed in his groin area.
It is now likely that Furlong will face a disciplinary hearing this week following the complaint.
Peter Ferguson of the IRFU had a 48-hour window after Saturday’s match to determine whether it was necessary to cite any players.
It has been reported that Ferguson spoke with players from both Leinster and Munster, after reading the report of referee Andrew Brace and studying video footage.
On Monday afternoon, the URC released a statement confirming that Ferguson ‘has made a complaint about an act of foul play by the Player (Tadhg Furlong No 3) against opponent Gavin Coombes (No 8)’.
It added: ‘The Player has been cited under Law 9.27 – A player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship including but not limited to grabbing, twisting or squeezing the genitals.
‘Arrangements for the disciplinary process are currently in progress and will be announced in due course.’
Furlong is currently in training camp with the Ireland squad ahead of the upcoming Nations Championship.
The likeliest date for his disciplinary hearing is probably on Wednesday, October 28.
When the incident allegedly occurred in the match, the referee called for a time off and informed both captains that he had asked for a review with the TMO, Colin Stanley.
He said: ‘It’s a big accusation. I don’t know who it is but I’m going to check it. Colin, I’m coming to you. I’ve an accusation of number eight red that he’s been grabbed in the groin area so we just need to check if there’s any foul play. If there’s not then we’ll refer it to a citing commissioner.’
Munster captain Tadhg Beirne told him: ‘It’s a big accusation’, to which Brace replied: ‘Yeah, 100%, that’s why I’m reviewing it.’
When the TMO said that he could see no evidence based on the camera angles he had, Brace ordered the game to restart.
He told Beirne: ‘Tadhg, nothing clear mate. The citing commissioner will have to deal with it.’
However, there was reportedly another camera angle that wasn’t available to Stanley which increased the grounds for a citing.
