Mack Hansen has learnt his suspension fate after his referee rant after the defeat to Leinster.
Mack Hansen has been slapped with a six-week ban – three of which suspended – following his outburst after Connacht’s defeat to Leinster in the United Rugby Championship (URC).
The suspension means that the winger will be available to Andy Farrell for Ireland’s opening game of the Six Nations when the defending champions tackle England on February 1.
He will however miss both of Connacht’s Challenge Cup fixtures against Lyon and Cardiff as well as the URC match against Glasgow Warriors, meaning he will go into the tournament cold.
Mack Hansen’s outburst
The winger has also issued an apology to referee Chris Busby while Connacht have been handed a suspended €10,000 fine related to the player’s sanction.
Hansen caused a stir after Connacht’s 20-11 loss to Leinster with his X-rated rant about the officiating from referee Busby and his team.
“I feel like we get this every week. We never get any calls, ever. I’ve been feeling this for years now,” Hansen told reporters in a press conference after the match.
“You can’t possibly tell me yourselves sitting there, like checking the Gus McCarthy one, how much? How much did they check that, 10, 11 times? Bundee gets a direct hit to the head, it’s quite obvious, no call, doesn’t care.
“It’s like we get that every time so you can hear the frustration in my voice ’cause it’s starting to get to the point where, honestly, it’s bull***t and it’s starting to get really frustrating for us ‘cause people will say we are an inconsistent team but when you are getting some of the calls we’re getting like, of course, you are going to be.
“I’m not making excuses by any means but like, when you just get it week after week, I feel it’s got to be spoken about because it’s just getting to the point where it’s starting to really piss us off because we just feel we’re getting played out of games and we never ever get any calls.”
URC statement
The URC have released a statement confirming the winger’s suspension after an Independent Disciplinary Panel upheld a charge of misconduct against the player.
“Hansen was charged with Misconduct in breach of Clause 3.2 of the Disciplinary Rules of the BKT United Rugby Championship after comments that he made about the match officiating of the Round 8 Leinster Rugby versus Connacht Rugby game on December 21, 2024. Those comments included significant criticism of the referee officiating at that match,” the statement read.
“In Clause 3.2 of the Disciplinary Rules, it states, “Misconduct” is defined to include (among other things) ‘… any conduct, behaviour, statements … or practices by a Club and/or any of its Players, its other Persons or its supporters, on or off the Playing Enclosure, during a Match or otherwise, that is unsporting and/or insulting and/or that brings or has the potential to bring the sport of rugby union, the Championship, other Clubs or Persons, match officials, [United] Rugby Championship, one or more of the Unions and/or any sponsor or other commercial partner of the United Rugby Championship into disrepute …’.
“Further, Hansen was also charged with Misconduct in breach of eight other clauses of the Disciplinary Rules (3.3, 3.3.4, 3.3.5, 3.3.6, 3.3.8, 3.3.13, 3.3.14 and 3.3.18). Additionally, the obligations of clubs to exercise control over their personnel were also considered in relation to the Player and Connacht Rugby. Hansen in large part accepted that his actions amounted to Misconduct and apologised for his actions.”
The panel concluded that a six-week ban was deemed appropriate with three weeks suspended and also imposed the following sanctions on the player:
1. The Player must make a full apology to the Match Official (Chris Busby, IRFU) in charge of refereeing the Leinster v Connacht fixture.
2. The Player must undertake an appropriate course (related to match officiating) as decided by Tappe Henning (URC Head of Match Officials) and Dudley Phillips (IRFU Head of Referees) with the learnings to be disseminated with his team-mates at Connacht Rugby.
3. Connacht Rugby must run an education session with their players about how to conduct themselves in post-match media sessions and interactions with the media.
The statement added: “The Panel noted that the Player expressed extreme remorse about his comments and the manner of public attention it has drawn. Regardless of the sanction applied it was always the Player’s intention to sincerely apologise to the Match Official involved once the disciplinary process had concluded. However, the Player has also been warned as to his future conduct in these situations.”
Hansen’s apology
Hansen’s apology reads as follows:
“People know I always wear my heart on my sleeve. However after the Leinster game, on this occasion, I let my emotions get the better of me.
“Upon reflection, my comments to the media were ill-advised, and fell far short of the standards I expect of myself, and what the sport expects of its players.
“I want to offer an apology to the match officials for any distress my comments may have caused. Our games are built on mutual respect and I didn’t show that after the game.
“I also want to apologise to the URC, and I fully accept the findings of the independent disciplinary panel.
“I love Connacht, and I love rugby. Moving forward, I will channel all my energy and passion into representing my province and country to the absolute best of my ability – both on and off the field.”
