England prop Joe Marler has been handed a six-week ban for his comments about Bristol Bears flanker Jake Heenan's mum.
Four weeks of the ban have been suspended, meaning he'll serve a two-week break from action.
The suspension may be activated should the player commit a similar offence in the meantime.
READ MORE: Top French and English clubs target Wales hooker amid ongoing contract uncertainty in Welsh rugby
The hearing, chaired by Gareth Graham alongside Becky Essex and Leon Lloyd, said Marler accepted the charge.
Graham said: "The player accepted that his conduct was prejudicial to the interests of the game.
"As has been said be previous rugby disciplinary panels, rugby's core values are not empty words or slogans which can be signed up to and then ignored. They are not to be treated as useful bolt-ons dreamt up by a marketing team. They are integral to the game and are what make the game special."
Marler's apology to Heenan served as mitigation, and he'll also have to give a presentation to a local club or school, and to a Premiership academy, on the core values of the game.
The outspoken Marler made some unsavoury comments about Heenan's mother - who was thought to be in hospital at the time - and was consequently charged by the Rugby Football Union under rule 5.12 - conduct prejudicial to the game.
That hearing concluded this evening and Marler will now sit out the next two weeks.
Marler is no stranger to controversy.
In 2016, Marler received a two-week suspension and was fined £20,000 for calling Wales prop Samson Lee "Gypsy boy", and two years ago he received a 10-week ban for grabbing Wales lock Alun Wyn Jones' genitals during a Six Nations game.
Speaking immediately after his side's victory over Harlequins encounter, Bristol rugby director Pat Lam said: "I brought Jake over from New Zealand to Connacht and to Bristol.
"He is like a son to our family and I have never seen him like that.
"It's best to say one of the areas we are all trying to work on is the spirit of the game.
"I love Joe Marler, but something was said and there was a reaction from Jake I have never seen before.
"We are all custodians of the game - players, coaches - and one thing we all value and we all work hard to keep is the right values and spirit. Jake reacted to something that was said."
READ MORE:
