The Welkom-born Franco Mostert’s controversial red card against Italy has been rescinded following his disciplinary hearing on Tuesday night, meaning he is free to play.

Mostert’s red card was downgraded to a yellow card as the tackle was still deemed high, but there was no evidence of the player making direct contact with his opponent’s head first.

???? ENCORE UN ROUGE ??

Franco Mostert expulsé dès la dixième minute face à l’Italie à Turin ! #ITAvRSA
pic.twitter.com/vvU0ldjiDQ

— RugbyFil (@RugbyFil) November 15, 2025

The Nations Series confirmed that following the disciplinary hearing, Mostert was free to play in Saturday’s Test against the Irish at the old Lansdowne Road, as well as next week’s Test against Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

“South Africa number five, Franco Mostert, appeared before an independent Disciplinary Committee on Tuesday evening via video link having received a red card for an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.13 in the match between Italy and South Africa on Saturday.

“The independent Disciplinary Committee was chaired by Stephen Hardy (Australia), who was joined by former players Ofisa Tonu'u (New Zealand) and Jamie Corsi (Wales).

Franco Mostert - X

“Having conducted a detailed review of all available evidence, including all camera angles and additional evidence and submissions made by and on behalf of the Player, the Disciplinary Committee determined that although there had been head contact and an act of foul play occurring within the incident, the offending did not reach the Red Card threshold.

“Rather, the evidence established that the initial contact made by the Player was directly to the shoulder of Italy 10 with there being ‘daylight’ between the shoulder contact and head/neck area of Italy 10. Head contact was then found to have occurred, but was secondary to the initial shoulder contact and made with much lower force and without the requisite level of ‘danger’ required under World Rugby's Head Contact Process to make the offending reach the red card threshold.

“The Red Card has accordingly been dismissed and will be expunged from the Player's disciplinary record. As a result, the Player is now free to play and available for selection this weekend.”

Meanwhile, former Cheetahs lock Lood de Jager’s appeal hearing is set to take place on Wednesday. A week prior to Mostert’s red card, De Jager was red carded for a dangerous tackle on French fullback Thomas Ramos during the 32-17 victory at Stade de France in Paris.

Lood de Jager being shown a red card by Angus Gardner - X

During the subsequent disciplinary hearing, De Jager was sanctioned with a heavy four-match suspension, meaning he would miss the rest of the tour as a player, though he is still with the team and assisting in their preparations.

It would be very optimistic to think that De Jager will have his red card expunged, and the best-case scenario is likely a reduction in his ban.

Saturday’s Test between Ireland and the Springboks at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin will kick off at 19:40.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport