French rugby star Uini Atonio will miss the rest of the Six Nations having been banned for three weeks as a result of his high tackle on Rob Herring during Ireland's 32-19 win at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
The incident occurred in the first half when Atonio's shoulder made contact with the head of Ireland hooker Rob Herring during a tackle.
Referee Wayne Barnes deemed the incident worthy of only a yellow card at the time, citing the apparent lack of force as his reason for not awarding the red card.
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Herring was substituted immediately after the Atonio tackle in the 26th minute. He underwent and failed a Head Injury Assessment (HIA), with Ronan Kelleher taking to the field in his place.
Atonio was cited for the high-tackle on Monday. He attended a video disciplinary hearing today, where he "admitted that he had committed an act of foul play worthy of a red card."
The standard ban for such an offence is six-weeks, but this was reduced to three because of the front rowers admittance that the tackle was worthy of a sending off.
The following statement was released with regards to Atonio's suspension:
"The player admitted that he had committed an act of foul play worthy of a red card. Having reviewed all the evidence, the committee accepted the Player's admission that the tackle on Ireland No. 2 was foul play. His shoulder made contact with Ireland No. 2's neck/face as described in the Citing Commissioner's report and therefore reached the red card threshold.
"On that basis, the Committee applied World Rugby’s mandatory minimum mid-range entry point for foul play resulting in contact with the head. This resulted in a starting point of a six-week suspension.
"Having acknowledged there were no aggravating factors and mitigating factors including the player’s immediate admission of guilt, his exemplary disciplinary record and genuine remorse, the committee reduced the six-week entry point by three weeks, resulting in a sanction of three weeks (to be served as the following given the player’s upcoming schedule):
"The Player applied to take part in the Coaching Intervention Programme to substitute the final match of his sanction for a coaching intervention, which was granted by the committee. The programme is aimed at modifying specific techniques and technical issues that contributed to the foul play. Further information can be found here.
"The player has the right of appeal within 3 working days of the issuing of the full written decision."
The incident and the decision of Barnes not to show a red card angered many at the time, with RTE commentator Hugh Cahill calling it a 'ridiculous decision.'
Atonio will play no further part in the Six Nations and will be unavailable for selection for France's final three games with Scotland (Feb 26th), England (March 11th) and Wales (March 18th).
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