Blood & Mud

Burger's attempted blinding gets less of a penalty than evading VAT

by Richard O'Hagan

What can you do in eight weeks? That’s almost certainly not the question that Schalk Burger is sitting at home thinking to himself, as he contemplates the better part of two months on the sideline for an offence which he still contends that he didn’t admit. 

The interesting news coming out of South Africa today is that the Springboks intend to appeal Bakkies Botha’s two week ban, but not Burger’s. This suggests that someone has, at last, woken up to the seriousness of Burger’s actions. 

Assaulting another player on the pitch is, in England and Wales at least, still a criminal offence. There have been plenty of occasions down the years where players have been jailed for such offences – Chris Stephens of Bridgend and Wales was one, and only last year an amateur player, Gareth Glyn Jones, received 12 months in prison for biting off a part of an opponent’s ear. 

That Burger claims that he didn’t mean to injure Luke Fitzgerald would be irrelevant. The offence of Common Assault can be committed recklessly as well as intentionally. In this country, Burger would be looking at the possibility of 6 months in jail, rather than just an 8 week ban from playing. 

In fact, the law would regard the sentence handed down to Burger as risible. For example, you can be jailed for up to six months if you fail to pay customs duty on goods worth over £1000. Six months is also the tariff for repeatedly abstracting electricity, or for evading payment of VAT. And if we are talking about bans rather than serving time, remember that acquiring 12 points on your driving licence will get you barred from the road for six months. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?  

Schalk Burger may well consider himself hard done by, but in reality he’s a very lucky man indeed.

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Burger's attempted blinding gets less of a penalty than evading VAT

by Richard O'Hagan

What can you do in eight weeks? That’s almost certainly not the question that Schalk Burger is sitting at home thinking to himself, as he contemplates the better part of two months on the sideline for an offence which he still contends that he didn’t admit. 

The interesting news coming out of South Africa today is that the Springboks intend to appeal Bakkies Botha’s two week ban, but not Burger’s. This suggests that someone has, at last, woken up to the seriousness of Burger’s actions. 

Assaulting another player on the pitch is, in England and Wales at least, still a criminal offence. There have been plenty of occasions down the years where players have been jailed for such offences – Chris Stephens of Bridgend and Wales was one, and only last year an amateur player, Gareth Glyn Jones, received 12 months in prison for biting off a part of an opponent’s ear. 

That Burger claims that he didn’t mean to injure Luke Fitzgerald would be irrelevant. The offence of Common Assault can be committed recklessly as well as intentionally. In this country, Burger would be looking at the possibility of 6 months in jail, rather than just an 8 week ban from playing. 

In fact, the law would regard the sentence handed down to Burger as risible. For example, you can be jailed for up to six months if you fail to pay customs duty on goods worth over £1000. Six months is also the tariff for repeatedly abstracting electricity, or for evading payment of VAT. And if we are talking about bans rather than serving time, remember that acquiring 12 points on your driving licence will get you barred from the road for six months. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?  

Schalk Burger may well consider himself hard done by, but in reality he’s a very lucky man indeed.