Hunslet’s Coby Nichol has been handed a whopping six-match ban after being found guilty of attacking the testicles of a rival player – but he will never actually serve the suspension.
The RFL’s Match Review Panel process confirmed on Saturday that Nichol had been charged with a Grade F – the most serious and severe – sanction of attacking the testicles of a Salford player during a clash between the two sides earlier this season.
It has not been clarified who the player in question is, but one thing that is certain is that Nichol has been found guilty of a serious incident.
That has carried a huge 36-point penalty for Nichol – which means an automatic six-game ban and a fan after it takes his personal points tally to 38.75 over the last 12 months.
However, Nichol will never serve that ban as it stands.
That is because Nichol, who started his career with Cornwall before joining Hunslet at the start of last season, actually left the club and the professional game altogether in the last week.
Nichol has had to leave and retire from the sport due to the work commitments according to a statement from the Parksiders made earlier this week.
That means while he has been hit with one of the longest bans the new disciplinary process has ever handed out, he’ll never have to serve it.
Hunslet said earlier this week: “The club is disappointed to announce that Coby Nichol has announced his immediate retirement from semi-professional rugby league due to work commitments. Coby made 21 appearances for the Parksiders, scoring six tries. No one will forget that full length interception try up the hill at Batley.”
Elsewhere, Hunslet’s Ethan O’Hanlon has been given a two-match ban for a Grade D Head Contact charge, earning him 15 penalty points.
The other charge from the latest Championship MRP is former Leeds Rhinos star Brett Ferres, who gets one point for a Grade A Head Contact charge.