Jermaine McGillvary: England winger charged over bite allegation

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England winger Jermaine McGillvary is facing a ban after being charged for allegedly biting Lebanon captain Robbie Farah during Saturday's game.

The Huddersfield player will face a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday for a charge of contrary conduct.

A match-review panel brought the charge after reviewing the incident on Monday.

Farah raised the complaint two minutes into the second half of England's 29-10 win over the Cedars, after the pair clashed at a ruck.

Referee Ben Thaler put McGillvary on report for the panel to discuss the incident.

Players found guilty of biting can typically face bans of up to 12 weeks.

"I made a complaint on the field and I'll leave it at that," said Farah after Saturday's game.

"Things happen in a split second on the field and you react.

"I don't think I need to say much else. There is a bit of footage there. It's pretty clear for everyone to see what happened on the replay."

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Robbie Farah said he was bitten by England's Jermaine McGillvary

All cases go to the World Cup's three-person judiciary panel for review, with any suspension served during the tournament and any remaining ban carried into the player's domestic competition.

Former New Zealand international Robbie Hunter-Paul said half-back Farah had "shoved his arm into the mouth" of McGillvary.

"I've seen bites before. He doesn't move to bite his arm. It may feel like a bite, but I didn't see Jermaine bite him," he told BBC Two.

Ex-England and Leeds captain Kevin Sinfield said he "didn't think there was anything in it".

"I think Farah's response if someone had bit him would have been significantly different," he added.

Both England coach Wayne Bennett and Lebanon boss Brad Fittler refused to be drawn on the incident.

"It's a bit hard for me to make a comment," said Bennett. "I have no more information than you've got. From where I'm sitting I can't tell you whether he bit him or not."

McGillvary, one of only two specialist wingers in the squad, was England's only scorer in the 18-4 defeat by Australia last week and followed that up with another try against Lebanon.

Media caption,

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