Owen Farrell WILL miss the start of England’s World Cup campaign as he is suspended for FOUR games following an appeal of the controversial decision to overturn his red card

OWEN FARRELL will miss the start of England’s World Cup after receiving a late suspension earlier this month for his high tackle on Welsh back rower Taine Basham.

The national captain appeared via video stream at an appeals hearing before an independent judiciary, which included chairman Nigel Hampton KC (New Zealand), Shao-ing Wang of Singapore and Donal Courtney of Ireland. Farrell’s hearing began at 7.30am and around 12 hours later it was announced by the Six Nations – who are overseeing the process in the case – that the 31-year-old had been suspended for four games after originally evading a sanction.

The panel reached a guilty verdict and decided to impose a medium-term suspension with a two-week reduction for acceptance of misconduct, remorse and good character. It was agreed that the ban would also include last weekend’s warm-up game against Ireland in Dublin. England head coach Steve Borthwick did not choose him for the showdown with world no.

Owen Farrell was sent off for a high tackle on Taine Basham during England’s win over Wales

A disciplinary panel overturned the red card in a ruling that sent shockwaves through the sport

Basham failed to assess a head injury, although Welsh doctors later found no symptoms of concussion

This means Farrell will be unavailable for the final warm-up game against Fiji on Saturday, the World Cup opener against Argentina in Marseille on September 9 and the clash with Japan in Nice on September 17. Now Borthwick must decide whether he still intends to bring his main playmaker to France as planned. He will certainly go for it, such is his influence both off and on the pitch. But George Ford will now enter the tournament at 10 as England’s likely starter.

There was a global uproar last week when Farrell was spared punishment at a first disciplinary hearing after his shoulder struck Basham’s head in the Twickenham game between England and Wales on August 12. A split second before colliding with Farrell, he had left the running line, and that mitigating circumstance meant that the matchday decision to convert his yellow card to a red card was overturned.

Billy Vunipola (left) faces suspension for the start of England’s Rugby World Cup after being shown a red card for a tackle on Andrew Porter

The Saracens’ fly-half has already run into trouble for his tackling technique and notably was released from a ban earlier this year over a similar incident

Farrell (centre left) also clashed with Wales 10 dan Biggar (centre right) after the incident

England will start their Rugby World Cup against Argentina on September 9th

Big questions remain about how Steve Borthwick’s side will fare at the 2023 World Cup after having been in poor form and struggling with disciplinary issues of late

But amid a storm of international protests, World Rugby exercised its right to appeal the verdict. It was understood that the governing body was pessimistic about the chances of the judgment being overturned, given the high level of proof that the original procedure was defective. However, they felt it was imperative that an appeal be sought at a time when there should be an obligation to minimize head contact and trauma in sport.

Angered by the prospect of more unrest this week, Orthwick was also outraged by what he described as “personal attacks” on Farrell, rather than criticism of a hopelessly flawed disciplinary system.