Rec star Louw banned for three weeks

BATH’S South African flank Francois Louw was suspended for three weeks on Wednesday over an incident during Bath’s Champions Cup victory against Treviso.

Louw was cited for making contact with the eye area of Marco Fuser, who was also cited for biting in the same incident, during the 23-0 win at the Rec.

The veteran South African, capped more than 50 times by the Springboks, tangled with Fuser at a 77th-minute breakdown, pulling the Italy lock away and then raking his hand across his face.

“The (independent disciplinary) committee found that the offence was at the low end of World Rugby’s sanctions and selected four weeks as the appropriate entry point,” said a statement from European Professional Club Rugby.

“There were no aggravating factors. However, as Louw did not have a clean disciplinary record, the committee decided to reduce the sanction by only one week before imposing a suspension of three weeks.”

The case against Fuser was dismissed after the committee concluded that there was insufficient evidence.

Louw will be available to play again on November 6, although both the player and the EPCR have the right to appeal the decision.

Leicester flanker Mike Williams was suspended for a week after admitting making contact with centre Henry Chavancy’s head as he charged into a ruck in their Champions Cup defeat at Racing 92.

Stade Francais scrumhalf Terry Bouhraoua was found guilty of placing hands in the face of an opponent — along with striking Valerii Tsnobiladze of Krasny Yar with his knee. However, the two offences were considered to represent one incident, so he received a four-week suspension, rather than four weeks for each.

Tsnobiladze was also convicted of eye-area contact. His guilty plea allowed him to have the sentence reduced to three weeks.

Such offences which are deemed to be ‘mid-range’ lead to a recommended eight-week ban, while for those deemed ‘top end’, the penalty scale is from 12 to 52 weeks.