MONT de Marsan prop Morgan Phelipponneau has been banned for four weeks for punching Gloucester tighthead Shaun Knight twice in the head.
Phelipponneau pleaded not guilty at a hearing in Dublin yesterday, but lost his case and will be out of action until Monday, February 18.
The 23-year-old front-rower struck Knight twice in Gloucester's 36-16 Mont de Marsan victory in the Amlin Challenge Cup last weekend.
Independent judicial officer Mark McParland imposed the four-week sentence, the hearing called after Gloucester lodged a citing complaint after Saturday's match.
Kingsholm boss Nigel Davies told the media Knight had been 'kicked twice in the head' immediately after Saturday's game.
Knight was face down on the Kingsholm turf following a collapsed scrum when he was struck, so had assumed he had been kicked – hence the confusion.
Gloucester were pulverising Mont de Marsan at the set-piece, and the Frenchmen lost their cool.
The Cherry and Whites were grinding towards a second-half penalty try at the time, but instead settled for two quickfire Henry Trinder tries that sealed the victory – and their home draw against Biarritz in the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
↧