The contentious red card dealt to France's Benjamin Fall during their loss to the All Blacks on Saturday night should never have been awarded, says World Rugby.
In a game-altering decision, the French winger was sent from the field in the 11th minute of the second test by referee Angus Gardner for an aerial challenge that resulted in a nasty fall for All Blacks first-five Beauden Barrett.
Barrett immediately left the field and was unable to return, after he failed a Head Injury Assessment (HIA).
The sport's global governing body has reviewed the incident and subsequently cancelled Fall's red card on the grounds that his eyes were clearly on the ball at all times, and his chase was affected by NZ centre Anton Lienert-Brown.
"As demonstrated in the video footage, the player, at all times, had his eyes on the ball whilst it was in the air, which showed, in our opinion, a clear intention, on the part of the player, that he intended to contest it," said the committee in a statement.
Analysing several alternative angles, the committee found that Fall's ability to contest the high ball was compromised, after colliding with Lienert-Brown as he attempted to pursue it, and his actions were neither "deliberate" nor "reckless".
"From the moment the ball leaves [Anthony Belleau's] boot, the player is observed running a line at pace to a position, which he believes will put him in the best possible position to catch it.
"The line that the player is running is then altered by his collision with [Lienert-Brown]. This collision then causes the player to lose his balance, stumble, and be propelled or pushed towards the path of NZ [Barrett]."
Fall won't suffer any further sanctions and will be available for France in the third and final test against the All Blacks in Dunedin on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Barrett's concussion symptoms make it unlikely he'll feature, with the All Blacks having already secured the series 2-0.
Newshub.
For all the live action and reaction from the third test between the All Blacks and France be sure to tune in to Newshub Sports from 7pm Saturday.
