The incident has been slammed as “stupid and unprofessional” by a former international
Zebre star Simone Gesi faces a ban after being shown a straight red card during his side’s United Rugby Championship clash with Ulster, having appeared to claw at the eyes of Ireland international Stuart McCloskey in a “stupid and unprofessional” incident.
The 24-year-old wing was given his marching orders with less than half an hour played in Parma on Saturday night, as the league’s bottom side fell to a 12-28 defeat to the Irish province in a scrappy contest at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.
The incident occurred in the 28th minute with the scores tied at 7-7, with Gesi receiving the ball inside his own half and attempting to break through the Ulster defensive line.
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However, he was stopped in his tracks by McCloskey, with the 6ft 4in, 17st 9lb Irishman then attempting to wrestle the ball from the Italian international’s grasp.
Gesi desperately tried to fight back against the Ulster centre, pushing him in the chest before his hand rose up to the Ireland star’s face, with his fingers seemingly making contact with his opponent’s eyes.
He ultimately had the ball ripped from his grasp before Welsh referee Craig Evans brought play back for a Zebre penalty, having played advantage.
However, replays showed the contact between Gesi’s hand and McCloskey’s eye area more clearly, and Evans showed no hesitation in issuing a straight red card to the Italian.
“OK, the footage is pretty clear on the screen,” the official said. “The actions of yourself on white 12 is avoidable. Your hands are in the eye or eye area and it’s going to be a red card.”
As Gesi made his way off the field, he went over to shake the hand of McCloskey and apologise, but his initial actions were slammed by furious former Ireland international Andrew Trimble, who was on co-commentary duties for Premier Sports.
“That’s the right decision,” he said. “There’s absolutely no place for that in rugby. He’s getting manhandled by Stuart McCloskey and his go-to reaction is to try and put his fingers in his eyes.
“I think it’s nonsense, and I think it’s a stupid reaction and an unprofessional one. I think it deserves a red card, 100 per cent.”
The incident also sparked fury amongst fans, as one took to X to describe it as “unbelievable” and “unjustifiable”.
Another wrote: “You can’t defend that,” while a third pointed to the 12-match ban received by Springbok star Eben Etzebeth for his eye-gouge on Wales’ Alex Mann during the autumn.
“If he doesn’t get an Etzebeth-length ban then there’s something tremendously wrong with the rulings,” they wrote. “Contact with the eye area should be a lengthy ban.”
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