‘He’s elbowed him in the head!’- Maitland controversially punishes Saints
Referee Karl Dickson probably went into the Gallagher Premiership semi-final clash between Saracens and Northampton Saints dreaming that there would be no controversy. Well that dream lasted a matter of seconds.
The game had barely kicked off and winger Sean Maitland was clattering into Saints fullback George Furbank in the air.
However, despite how dangerous the collision looked, it was only a penalty to Saints.
Fast forward about 20 minutes and Maitland was scoring his second try of the half to give his side a huge advantage. Plenty of fans online believed it was at least a yellow, but Dickson disagreed and the former Scotland wing made Saints pay.
Here are some of the responses online:
“Poor from Karl Dickson there, that’s at least a yellow for Maitland! He’s elbowed him in the head!”
“Maitland scores a try within 4-5 mins of an incident where he takes a man out in the air! @SaintsRugby should feel massively aggrieved about that.”
“Maitland scoring a try and shouldn’t even be on the pitch 🤦🏼♂️”
“Maitland shouldn’t even be on the pitch.”
“Took less than a minute for the officials to bottle a big decision. Maitland should have been yellow carded at minimum.”
“You sent Olly Woodburn off. Then Sean Maitland creams whoever, taking his eye off ball, carried on. Smashed him. Rugby incident. WTF? Do not ruin this game, please. Please.”
Poor from Karl Dickson there, that’s at least a yellow for Maitland! He’s elbowed him in the head!
— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) May 13, 2023
Maitland scores a try within 4-5 mins of an incident where he takes a man out in the air! @SaintsRugby should feel massively aggrieved about that.
— Sam Vitty (@samvitty) May 13, 2023
Maitland scoring a try and shouldn’t even be on the pitch 🤦🏼♂️#SARvNOR #GallagherPrem
— TigersFans (@LeTigersFan) May 13, 2023
Maitland shouldn’t even be on the pitch
— Alan Bates (@silvercheetah52) May 13, 2023
Took less than a minute for the officials to bottle a big decision. Maitland should have been yellow carded at minimum. #SARvNOR
— Daniel Cox (@danielcox194) May 13, 2023
You sent Olly Woodburn off. Then Sean Maitland creams whoever, taking his eye off ball, carried on. Smashed him. Rugby incident. WTF? Do not ruin this game, please. Please.
— Pete🇺🇦 (@PeterDu23019510) May 13, 2023
Here are the tries:
The bounce of a rugby ball 💫
This one goes in @Saracens' favour as Sean Maitland gathers from between two Saints defenders to run in and score.#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/0u4zJW68pb
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) May 13, 2023
Exquisite, Owen Farrell! ✨
Tremendous @Saracens patience before an export nudge from the captain for Sean Maitland to score.#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/fA6ggbQ3Hd
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) May 13, 2023
