Leicester Tigers second row Will Spencer has been banned for four weeks after he was sent off for a dangerous tackle against Wasps.
The forward was punished for his clash with Tommy Taylor in the 40th minute of the Gallagher Premiership contest at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday.
An independent disciplinary panel decided to uphold the referee’s decision, describing the tackle as “reckless” and arguing Spencer had made contact with his opponent’s head.
“This was a reckless tackle that resulted in direct, forceful contact to the head of Tommy Taylor,” the chair of the disciplinary panel Euan Ambrose said in his findings.
“The panel rejected the player’s evidence that any contact with the opposition player had been limited to the top of his shoulder with no contact being made to his head.
“The player was given credit for his previous clear record, his conduct both at the hearing and his acceptance of the on-field decision and his off-field references which reduced the sanction to four weeks.
“He is free to play again on Oct. 16.”
A clamp-down on dangerous tackles in the early part of the season has seen several high-profile incidents in the Premiership.
Bristol Bears flanker George Smith managed to avoid a ban by successfully arguing his case in front of a disciplinary panel after he was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Saracens’ Jackson Wray.
But Spencer has not been so lucky, falling foul of a drive by World Rugby to reduce the risk of head injuries and concussions sustained through tackles over shoulder-height.
The sending off was heavily criticised by Leicester’s head coach Geordan Murphy, who said rugby had become “too PC”.
Leicester prop Ellis Genge tweeted “we might as well be playing touch rugby”, while the club’s captain Tom Youngs was caught on the referee’s mic arguing “he’s 6’7″! Rugby’s changed, rugby’s changed.”