Leicester Tigers centre Kyle Eastmond faced an independent disciplinary hearing last night after he was red carded for a dangerous tackle against Bristol Bears during Saturday's Gallagher Premiership match at Ashton Gate.
Eastmond was charged with committing a dangerous tackle contrary to Law 9.13 when he tackled Bristol's Ian Madigan with an unfortunate shoulder to the head.
While Madigan appeared to be lowering his body position as he made the pass, Eastmond's shoulder made contact with his head and face.
Eastmond plead guilty to the charge and was suspended for four weeks by the independent disciplinary panel. He is free to play again on 1 January 2019.
Independent panel chair John Brennan said the following of their decision: "The player accepted the charge and accepted through his representative that the entry point was mid-range due to there being direct contact to the head of the opponent.
"The panel acknowledged his plea, his remorse for the incident and his apology but could not give the player full mitigation of 50% due to his having been sanctioned for dangerous tackling last season. As such, the entry point was reduced by two weeks rather than three."
Last season Eastmond was suspended for six weeks last season after two dangerous tackles in one match.
Worcester Warriors fullback Chris Pennell has also been suspended, for two weeks.
The Eastmond tackle is at 32 seconds in, but there is a nice Manu Tuilagi try just before that