Curry to face no action over Contepomi tunnel ‘push’

In the iffy aftermath of their teams’ autumn international, England flanker Tom Curry will avoid receiving any punishment for a tunnel tussle with Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi.

Contepomi claimed that Curry, 27, shoved him in the chest during a fight that resulted in the knee ligament damage to Pumas full-back Juan Cruz Mallia.

The Six Nations, which organizes the autumn series, has chosen to abstain, after reviewing security camera footage from Allianz Stadium and receiving statements from those involved.

No formal sanctions will be issued to either party, it said, taking into account all factors that precede and after the incident, based on the balance of information, and acknowledging a contentious end to the fixture.

However, it has cautioned both Curry and Contepomi that the incident will remain in both’s files.

The relevant Disciplinary Committee will be informed of any similar incident that either party might have in future tournaments, it continued.

After the final whistle of England’s 27-23 victory, a number of Argentina players criticized Curry, with Harlequins wing Rodrigo Isgro one of them.

Contepomi claimed that Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, a member of Curry’s club side Sale between 2006 and 2009, made an attempt to greet him as he entered the dressing room.

Because we were upset because he was reckless and broke our player’s knee, Fernandez said, “No, no.”

He pushed me after I said, “mate, you broke his knee.”

You must be at least at least humble enough to apologize for what you did wrong after breaking someone’s knee. But he made a different choice.

At both the club and country, Curry’s coaches gave him unwavering support.

Steve Borthwick, England’s head of rugby, described Curry’s character as “unquestionable” and “impartial,” while Alex Sanderson, Sale’s rugby director, described the claim as “ridiculous” and “illogical”

After claiming that South Africa’s hooker Bongi Mbonambi had used a racist slur during the Springboks’ 16-15 semi-final victory, Curry was the subject of controversy at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

In that case, World Rugby opted not to intervene because there was insufficient evidence.