A hefty 20‑week ban has been slapped on Fijian ear‑biter, Samu Suguturaga who has joined one of sport’s most infamous clubs beside former boxer Mike Tyson.
A judiciary hearing in Brisbane last night dealt out the massive punishment for the heinous act on Brisbane City hooker Andrew Ready in last Saturday’s National Rugby Championship match at Ballymore.
Ready reeled out of a first half scrum clutching his right ear which was freshly bleeding and instantly reported the incident to referee Damon Murphy.
The Courier Mail reports that Fiji Airways Drua hooker, Samu Suguturaga was cited and pleaded guilty when the disgraced forward faced judicial officer Paul Tully at Ballymore last night.
Tully had the benefit of being a former hooker himself which gave him extra insight into how Ready’s right ear might have been chomped in the shifting, close contact of two front‑rows in a scrum.
Ready had indicated post‑match that the City scrum had been marching forward and he felt the opposition forward latch onto his ear.
He required stitches and head bandaging to finish the game when several red marks were still evident.
Suguturaga received the lengthy suspension in person at the Ballymore hearing where he was represented by Tim Matthews QC and Drua team manager Chris Thomson.
Tully found that the conduct was in the high end for this offence which has an entry point of 24 weeks. The player received a reduction due to certain mitigating circumstances.
Sport’s most notorious ear‑biter remains former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson who had his boxing licence suspended for 15 months after chomping on the ear of rival Evander Holyfield during their 1997 fight in Las Vegas.
Holyfield underwent surgery for 90 minutes and needed eight stitches to repair his right ear and there is still a piece missing to this day.
