“SEE!!!!!!!!!!!! Alev kelter is the best centre in the world. She’s epic,” wrote Jessica Fletcher, a senior test engineer for BBC News & Sport, on X. That praise followed Kelter’s powerhouse performance against Canada, where she racked up 15 carries, 7 tackles, 3 passes, 3 defenders beaten, 2 line breaks, 2 kicks, 2 dominant hits, 1 turnover won, and a try — all in just 80 minutes. But the tides have turned dramatically in just 15 days.
Alev Kelter found herself at the center of controversy after being ejected from the USA’s May 17 match against Australia in the Pacific Four Series. In the 79th minute, referee Aimee Barrett-Theron sent her off for stomping on the head of Wallaroos center Georgie Friedrichs — a moment caught on hot mic, where Barrett-Theron declared: “12 blue [Kelter] is going to receive a permanent red card because this is thuggery, it is deliberate, and it is very dangerous foul play. She’s clearly stamped on the head of the Australian player. That’s reckless, that’s dangerous, and she’s going off.” Australia went on to win the match 27–19. But there were a lot of things waiting in the background.
Three days later, Kelter appeared before an independent disciplinary panel in New Zealand, chaired by Michael Heron KC, with former internationals Becky Essex and Ofisa Tonu’u. There, Kelter admitted the red card was warranted and accepted responsibility for the foul. But the committee accepted her claim that while the stomp was reckless, it wasn’t intentional — and her suspension was cut in half: from six matches down to just three. She’ll now miss the final round of the Pacific Four Series and two games with her US-based Bay Breakers club.
The repercussions of such suspensions are the harshest when teams are playing multiple matches within just a few weeks. For instance, in the Pacific Four Series and similar international windows, squads may face up to three fixtures in a two-week period, meaning a three-match ban can effectively sideline a player for an entire tournament.
This is what is happening with Kelter here. She will now miss the USA’s final series clash as well as two appearances for her Bay Breakers club. In such tightly packed schedules, disciplinary rulings—regardless of length—can have an outsized impact on team strategies.
Similar cases that draw parallels
To add context to Alev’s suspension duration, just two years ago, Harlequins Women’s flanker Emily Robinson found herself in hot water for a similar offense. In a fiery conclusion to a Premiership Women’s Rugby clash, Robinson stomped into Saracens centre Cara Gregson after a post-whistle shove on Ella Cromack escalated tensions. Later at her disciplinary hearing, Robinson didn’t try to dodge accountability. “I’m disappointed in myself, as I understand that actions such as these have no place in the game,” she said, owning up to the charge. But the Rugby Union took a harder line. Robinson was handed a five-week suspension, a signal that intent didn’t matter as much as action when it came to player safety.
Fast-forward to April last year: England hooker Amy Cokayne found herself sidelined during the Women’s Six Nations after being red-carded in the 55th minute of England’s crushing 46–0 win over Scotland. Cokayne had received two yellow cards for dangerous tackles at that time. In this case, Cokayne’s actions were acknowledged with a red, but with her clean disciplinary history and good behavior in the hearing, the committee chopped her penalty in half, reducing it from two games to just one match.
Meanwhile, World Rugby explained, “Having accepted that the acts of foul play justified the red card and by applying World Rugby’s sanctioning provisions, the Disciplinary Committee determined that a two-week entry point was appropriate with the full 50 percent mitigation applied, reducing the sanction to one week.”
Kelter’s suspension will see her miss the remainder of the Pacific Four Series and two Bay Breakers games. As the sport continues to evolve, such incidents highlight the ongoing challenges in maintaining disciplinary standards.
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