BUENOS AIRES – The Sanzaar Foul Play Review Committee has accepted a guilty plea from Sharks captain Ruan Botha and have suspended him for four weeks.
Botha was red-carded during the Super Rugby match against the Jaguares at the weekend. The foul play has earned Botha a suspension from all forms of the game up to and including June 23.
The incident occurred in the 72nd minute of the match at Vélez Sarsfield in Buenos Aires on Friday.
Because of the break for international mid-year matches, the Sharks only play their next Super Rugby on June 30 against the Lions in Durban which means Botha will not miss any matches.
The Sanzaar Foul Play Review Committee of Nigel Hampton QC (chairman), Stefan Terblanche and Stephen Hardy assessed the case after which Sanzaar issued a statement on Monday
The statement in part read: "The Foul Play Review Committee added one week to the initial sanction as aggravation for the fact the player was suspended for a similar incident less than 12 months prior.
"However, taking into account the mitigating factor of the player's guilty plea at the first available opportunity, the Foul Play Review Committee reduced the suspension to four weeks.