Bath's Francois Louw suspended for three weeks

Bath flanker Francois Louw has been handed a three-week ban following a disciplinary hearing held in London on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old was earlier cited for making contact with the eye of Benetton Treviso lock Marco Fuser during the recently concluded European Challenge Cup encounter between the two teams last weekend.

Fuser himself has been cited for biting during the same incident which happened in the 77th minute when Louw tangled with Fuser, pulling the Italy lock away and then raking his hand across his face.

A statement from European Professional Club Rugby said: "The committee upheld the citing complaint and determined that the offence warranted a red card.

"The committee found that the offence was at the low end of World Rugby's sanctions and selected four weeks as the appropriate entry point.

"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 charges against Fuser were dismissed as the committee did not find any proper evidence to find the 26-year-old guilty.

Meanwhile, 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.