Following an on-field altercation between the Florida Gators and the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, a pair of Gator players will now have to sit out of the first half of the Georgia-Florida game in Jacksonville this Saturday.
Florida defensive lineman Zach Carter and linebacker Antwuan Powell were ejected from the game on Saturday prior to the start of the second half, and now they’ve been handed an addition penalty by the SEC, being forced to sit out of the first half this coming Saturday.
In addition, Florida head coach Dan Mullen has also been fined $25K for his role in the altercation. He was seen charging towards players before the fight beoke out, and then pumping up the crowd as he was heading into the locker room.
According to NCAA Football Playing Rule 9.5.1.b., ejections for fighting carry an automatic half-game suspension for the succeeding game
The SEC has also issued half game suspensions for Missouri linebacker Chad Bailey, offensive lineman Dylan Spencer and defensive lineman Markell Utsey for their role in the altercation. Missouri is off this week and happens to play Georgia next on its schedule, November 14th. This means Georgia will be the benefactor in both team’s suspensions.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey issued the following statement:
“There is no place in college football for the kind of incident that took place at halftime of the Missouri at Florida game Saturday night. Everyone involved is responsible for meeting sportsmanship standards throughout each game. Running on the field to confront a game official, the gathering of teams in an on-field confrontation and student-athletes throwing punches are all disappointing at any time, but even more so as we work to support healthy competition during a pandemic.”