In a pivotal game for Northampton Saints and their playoff hopes, Lewis Ludlam appeared to be ‘punched’ by Newcastle Falcons forward Greg Peterson.
In a ruck extremely close to the Northampton line, the Saints back row forward seemed to be holding Peterson.
The Newcastle man then lashed out and appeared to strike Ludlam in what the TMO described as a ‘punch’.
On first viewing it seemed as though Peterson had made contact with the face of Northampton’s captain which would have resulted in a red card.
However, it was later clarified that the contact was made in the upper arm region and a yellow card was brandished to Peterson.
Greg Peterson is sin-binned after lashing out at Lewis Ludlam.
Should that have been a yellow both ways? 🟨#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/DjMZLA4SNM
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) June 4, 2022
The exchange between the two players and the resulting yellow card has sparked a debate on social media.
Many fans believe that Ludlam should have also seen yellow for the initial offence of holding in the ruck.
John on Twitter said, ‘Either yellow for both or nothing’.
Another Twitter user went one step further and said ‘Should have been nothing for greg and a yellow for Ludlam, the ref just rewarded cheating’.
To many, Peterson’s actions were not even deemed to be a punch and seen instead as a slap -which begs the question if it was even foul play at all.
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