Lukhan Tui handed three-week suspension

Queensland Reds lock Lukhan Tui has been handed a three-week suspension following his yellow-card incident in the recently concluded Super Rugby clash against Rebels at AAMI Park on Friday.

The 21-year-old was sin-binned by referee Brendon Pickerill in the 22nd minute during the game for a breach of law 19.8 that deals with lifting an opponent off the ground and drop or drive that player so that their head and/or upper body make contact with the ground.

The decision proved decisive for Reds, who were already down to 14-men following a red-card to Scott Higginbotham in the ninth minute of the game and as a result, succumbed to a 45-19 defeat.

Upon further review, the Citing Commissioner deemed Tui's action warranted a red-card and as a result, Tui appeared before a SANZAAR Judicial Committee on Sunday via a video conference and was proved guilty of the charges.

Judicial Committee Chairman Michael Heron QC stated that the low-entry sanction of six weeks was reduced by half following Tui's past disciplinary record and his guilty plea.

"Having conducted a detailed review of all the available evidence, including all camera angles and additional evidence, including evidence from the player and submissions from his legal representative, Mark Martin QC, the Judicial Committee upheld the citing under Law 9.13," he said in a statement released by the SANZAAR.

"With respect to sanction the Judicial Committee deemed the act of foul play merited a low end entry point of 6 weeks due to an absence of intention and other contributing factors. However, taking into account mitigating factors including the Player's excellent disciplinary record and his guilty plea at the earliest possible opportunity, the Judicial Committee reduced the suspension to 3 weeks."

"The player is therefore suspended for 3 weeks, up to and including the Saturday 17 March 2018.”