France centre Jonathan Danty will miss his country’s Six Nations matches against Wales and England after being given a five-week ban.
Danty was shown a red card by referee Christophe Ridley after a bunker review during Sunday’s dramatic 13-13 draw with Italy after making direct head-on-head contact while attempting to tackle Juan Ignacio Brex.
The La Rochelle midfielder appeared before an independent disciplinary committee comprising of chair Jennifer Donovan of Ireland, England’s Leon Lloyd and South African Stefan Terblanche via video link on Tuesday and admitted committing an act of foul play.
A statement from Six Nations Rugby said: “The player admitted that he had committed an act of foul play and that it had been worthy of a red card. The disciplinary committee accepted that the player had acted recklessly, and not
maliciously or with intent.
The centre, a key player for Les Bleus in recent years, will miss championship Tests vs Wales in Cardiff and England in Lyon
“The disciplinary committee also highlighted that the player had accepted guilt at the earliest opportunity and shown immediate remorse on the field of play.
“On that basis and applying World Rugby’s mandatory sanctioning provisions, the disciplinary committee concluded that the incident warranted a mid-range entry point of six weeks suspension.
“Mitigating factors (the player’s apology, acknowledgement of guilt and good conduct at the hearing) were applied, reducing the six-week entry point by two weeks. However, one further week was added for aggravating factors (the player’s disciplinary record) resulting in a five-week playing suspension.”
Danty has proven a vital performer for La Rochelle too, in their run to two European Cup titles
Danty, who has a right of appeal, stands to miss the two internationals, the first of which vs Wales in Cardiff on Sunday March 10, takes place on the same day as his club’s Top 14 fixture against Stade Francais, followed by France’s Round 5 clash vs England in Lyon on Saturday March 16.
Danty is also in line to miss La Rochelle’s forthcoming matches against Bayonne and Oyonnax in the Top 14, and their Champions Cup last-16 tie vs the Stormers in South Africa.
He has been given permission to apply to take part in World Rugby’s Coaching Intervention Programme, however, which looks to modify specific techniques and technical issues, instead of serving the final match of the sanction (vs Stormers).
