Rugby fans have called for a player to be banned from the sport for life for a deliberate act of violence during a semi-professional match in Wales.
The shocking incident occurred during a Super Rygbi Cymru match between Llandovery and Ebbw Vale on Thursday night.
Ebbw Vale lock Curtis Gregory was handed a straight red card late in the first half after being caught deliberately stamping on an opposition player.
During a ruck in the 35th minute, Gregory saw the leg of a Llandovery star and deliberately stomped his boot into the player’s knee.
The victim of the stamp appeared to come away unharmed and immediately got up to confront Gregory. A heated altercation followed before the Ebbw Vale player was given his marching orders.
After spotting the incident, the referee said: ‘We have a stamp by this player. I did ask the question if anything aggravated it.
Lock Curtis Gregory was red-carded for stamping on an opponent during a semi-professional match between his side Ebbw Vale and Llandovery
‘My AR (assistant referee) didn’t see anything. It’s a stamp on the leg. Red card. Permanent.’
A clip of the incident posted on S4C’s social media channels displays the reaction from commentators covering the game. Both let out a groan after seeing replays of the incident.
The stamp also left rugby fans shocked and horrified, with many taking to social media to voice their disgust.
One Reddit user posted the clip online and captioned it: ‘If anything deserves a life ban, it’s this one’.
Another user replied: ‘Yup – ban him for life. It was intentional and could easily have resulted in a career-ending injury for his victim.’
Further replies to the clip saw angry rugby fans call Gregory ‘disgusting’ for the stamp, while a different user backed the call for a lifetime ban by saying that he ‘shouldn’t be allowed near a pitch again’.
