Exactly - by admitting to blocking a player, is to not admit to causing unreasonable contact. Baker merely entered into Farmer's path - as a defender, to cut his run into a wide open F50 area. In taking this action - Farmer has not seen him ( or maybe he did!!) and cannoned into the back of his head. It was accidental clash of heads which occured because of Farmer's lack of awareness of what is around him. Baker did not initiate an illegal contact. He merely got in his way to guard his man.Riewoldting wrote:Well "block" in its ordinary means "to prevent access to".
So that's all he is admitting to ... standing in someone's way.
If I stand in someone's way on a city street, I haven't bumped, charged or shepherded them or initiated contact. I've simply blocked access.
If they got their back up and charged into me ... but came off second best ... well, more fool them.
A question of reasonableness: basis for appeal
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yipper
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meher baba
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I have a suggestion at how we can elaborate on this "block" defence a bit further (isn't it fun playing at being a criminal barrister?).
It seems that Baker admitted to an illegal shepherd (according to some articles I have read, he seems to have said something like ("yes, it was more than 5 metres away from the play and I would have expected to have a free kick awarded against me if the umpire had seen it").
But he could argue that he described what happened in this way in the heat of giving evidence to clear himself of a charge of a deliberate hit to the head. Therefore, he was led into giving this description, blissfully unaware (and presumably not warned by the Tribunal) that he could incriminate himself.
What he had meant to say was that what he had done had had the effect of being an illegal shepherd, but that was never his intent: his intent had been simply to run into Farmer's path as they were both heading towards the 50. Baker stopped suddenly, not to initiate contact with Farmer, but to cause him to change direction. Baker would have explained this to the Tribunal if they had made him fully aware that the charge he was facing was "illegal shepherd causing bodily harm" rather than "deliberate attack on the opponent's head". But they didn't, so he was unfairly led into incriminating himself.
Or something like that.
It seems that Baker admitted to an illegal shepherd (according to some articles I have read, he seems to have said something like ("yes, it was more than 5 metres away from the play and I would have expected to have a free kick awarded against me if the umpire had seen it").
But he could argue that he described what happened in this way in the heat of giving evidence to clear himself of a charge of a deliberate hit to the head. Therefore, he was led into giving this description, blissfully unaware (and presumably not warned by the Tribunal) that he could incriminate himself.
What he had meant to say was that what he had done had had the effect of being an illegal shepherd, but that was never his intent: his intent had been simply to run into Farmer's path as they were both heading towards the 50. Baker stopped suddenly, not to initiate contact with Farmer, but to cause him to change direction. Baker would have explained this to the Tribunal if they had made him fully aware that the charge he was facing was "illegal shepherd causing bodily harm" rather than "deliberate attack on the opponent's head". But they didn't, so he was unfairly led into incriminating himself.
Or something like that.
"It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into."
- Jonathan Swift
- Jonathan Swift