A South African rugby player gouged the eyes of an opponent during a game on Saturday, setting off a raging controversy in the rugby world.
Schalk Burger, who plays for South Africa's national team, gouged the eyes of Luke Fitzgerald, a player for the British and Irish Lions. The International Rugby Board took immediate action against Burger and described eye gouging as "particularly heinous" but South Africa's coach refused to condemn the action and said it is part of the game.
South Africa coach Peter de Villiers said he didn't think Burger did anything wrong, prompting British and Irish Lions coach Ian McGeechan to say, "To me that it is never part of the game, I could never condone actions like that. ... Because for me you can't see that and say it's a part of the game that I would ever want to be associated with."
The International Rugby Board released the following statement:
"The IRB is firmly of the view that there is no place in Rugby for illegal or foul play and the act of eye gouging is particularly heinous," the board's statement said.Burger has been suspended for eight weeks for the action. He is the 10th rugby player in the last two years to be suspended for eye gouging.
"In light of recent high profile cases, the IRB is launching a review of the existing disciplinary sanction structure to send out the strongest possible message that such acts of illegal/foul play will not be tolerated. ...
"In light of recent cases, the IRB will review whether the scope of the appeal should in the future extend to other appropriate parties, including the IRB itself."
