Ashton facing six-month ban for TWO bites
ENGLAND wing Chris Ashton faces a six-month ban after he was charged with two counts of biting Northampton prop Alex Waller. The 29-year-old will appear in front of an independent panel in London this evening, following Saracens’ 27-12 victory at Allianz Park on Saturday. An independent panel have the discretion to judge the incidents, which occurred in the 24th and 25th minute, as separate cases — meaning two suspensions of a minimum of 12 weeks for each guilty verdict. If the incidents are deemed worthy of a top-end ban, Ashton could face two 24-week suspensions, ruling him out beyond next year’s British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand. It is a double blow for Ashton, who was banned for 10 weeks in January for gouging Ulster centre Luke Marshall and removed from Eddie Jones’ England squad. Jones has since held clear-the-air talks with Ashton, who turned down the chance to tour with England Saxons in the summer. If found guilty, he could now miss England’s upcoming campaigns, as well as Saracens’ defence of their Champions Cup and Aviva Premiership titles. The controversial Ashton has courted criticism for his ‘swallow dive’ celebration and was also part of the ‘dwarf-throwing’ at the 2011 World Cup. His misdemeanours have detracted from his scoring potency — 19 tries in 39 Tests — and World Cup winner Will Greenwood compared him to former Liverpool and Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli. ‘He just finds himself in situations he shouldn’t get into,’ Greenwood said. ‘We asked why he does these things and he said: “I don’t know why I do it. I don’t mean to”. He’s like Mario Balotelli. Someone give him a T-shirt: “Why Always Me?”.’