The guidelines, which have been operational since 2016, deal with when two players are challenging for a ball in the air and are designed to give clarity and alignment regarding the red card threshold. These guidelines are:
- If a player is not in a realistic position to gather the ball, there is contact and their opponent lands on their back or side – Yellow card
- If a player is not in a realistic position to gather the ball, there is reckless or deliberate foul play and the player lands in a dangerous position – Red card
A player having eyes on the ball is not by itself a mitigating factor when the match officials are determining whether potential foul play has been committed. The primary consideration is whether both players were in a realistic position to regather the ball.
In respect of the red card issued to Benjamin Fall during the New Zealand versus France match on 16 June, the match official team followed the guideline correctly and made a decision based on the available camera angles.
Only during the subsequent review by an independent judicial panel, when additional camera angles were made available, was it determined that Benjamin Fall was knocked off balance immediately prior to the challenge and therefore the red card was dismissed.