Rugby - English player gets 14-week ban for violent attack

Former England flanker Andy Hazell has been banned for 14 weeks for attacking an opponent during a European club game. Hazell reacted wildly to what his Gloucester team claimed was extreme provocation, including alleged eye gouging, by players from French team Mont-de-Marsan during a second-tier Challenge Cup match. European Rugby Cup, organisers of the Challenge Cup and Heineken Cup, found Hazell guilty of intentionally striking Mont-de-Marsan replacement Sebastien Ormaechea with both fist and knee, and suspended him until 21 January. The match commissioner couldn’t find sufficient video evidence of foul play against Hazell after being provided photographic evidence by Gloucester of marks around his eyes.