Championship coach handed lengthy ban as details of head injury breach revealed

Sheffield Eagles coach Mark Aston has been handed an 18-month ban after being found guilty of a serious breach of rugby league’s operational rules.

Aston and the club’s physio, Mick Heys, faced a tribunal after it was alleged Eagles player Matty Marsh featured for the club against Wigan Warriors in their Challenge Cup tie in March without receiving the necessary medical clearance to return from a head injury.

It means that Aston will be unable to coach or hold any senior position within rugby league which could hold an influence over team selection until April 30, 2026 – and leaves Sheffield on the hunt for a permanent coach in 2025.

Heys was suspended for 18 months too, but six of that was suspended after he ‘admitted his conduct at the outset’ and ‘apologised and expressed significant remorse’. His ban runs until October 31 next year and prohibits him from holding a medical position in rugby league.

In imposing the sentences HHJ C Batty, the Tribunal Chair, wrote: “These are very serious breaches of the Operational Rules designed to protect the welfare of those who play the game. For the reasons set out above the penalties for those who breach these rules must be significant.

“Head contact has become a serious issue in professional rugby in both codes of the game. Both codes have recognised the need to implement rule changes, safety procedures and medical protocols in order to lessen the incidence of head contact and the impact of it upon those who play. The processes adopted are the result of detailed research and consultation with many medical experts. They are accepted to be the minimum standard to ensure the safety of those who play the game.

“The rules are detailed and specific and most of all are to be rigidly observed. The RFL has a responsibility to ensure that those who play, coach, manage and run the teams in the game and those who provide medical assistance within the game abide by those rules. As stated above they are a minimum standard in respect of player welfare.

“The GRTP [Graduated Return to Play protocol] is a policy that was deliberately designed to be overseen by a doctor or appropriately qualified healthcare equivalent. Only those deemed qualified are permitted to make a final assessment as to the fitness and therefore availability of a player subject to the process. The consequences of a player returning to contact without the appropriate assessment could increase the risk of long term cognitive or neurological disorders.

“As the RFL rightly describes it in their skeleton the GRTP is a safeguard in the Medical Standards which form an important part of the Operational Rules and it should be strictly adhered to. Player welfare is and should be paramount. Those who fail to comply with the rules must be brought to account.”

Aston has the right to appeal and has 14 days from the verdict date of Tuesday, October 22. Unless he chooses to do so, his historic run as Sheffield head coach is now seemingly over. He has had an almost unbroken run as the Eagles coach dating all the way back to 1999.

But now, his career in the game appears to be in serious doubt after a major breach of the sport’s guidelines surrounding head contact.