Fans left outraged as Saracens fly-half Owen Farrell’s ‘shoulder charge’ tackle escapes punishment
Owen Farrell has irked supporters and critics alike once again for his apparent use of a shoulder during Saracens’ win over Worcester Warriors on Saturday.
The defending Gallagher Premiership champions bounced back from their defeat at Exeter to claim a precious bonus-point victory in their pursuit of Gallagher Premiership survival after dismantling Worcester 62-5.
Rooted to the foot of the table after being docked 35 points for breaching salary cap regulations, the champions ran in 10 tries against outclassed opponents at Allianz Park.
But Farrell came under intense scrutiny for a tackle which seemed to contain no arms and was suspiciously high.
The England captain caught Warriors winger Tom Howe in the neck area as he charged towards the Sarries tryline and made no visible attempt to wrap his arms.
Referee Craig Maxwell-Keys ruled after viewing the TMO footage that Farrell had started low and risen up, thus bringing 'mitigating circumstances' into play,
This is not the first time the fly-half has been shrouded in controversy for his tackling technique, with his hit on South Africa forward Andre Esterhuizen at Twickenham in November 2018 somehow was deemed legal.
Just three weeks later the 28-year-old also escaped punishment for his no arms tackle on Izack Rodda when Australia demanded a penalty try at the very least.
Check out what fans had to say below.