Acosta receives six week ban

Benetton Treviso prop, Romulo Acosta was banned for six weeks by the Pro12 disciplinary committee following the red card he received in the match against Edinburgh on Friday.

Acosta was given his marching orders by the referee for striking an opponent. The sanction, under law 10.4(a), carries a sentence of 10-weeks for this type of offence.

However, in the absence of any aggravating factors and in light of several mitigating factors, including the player's exemplary previous playing record, the disciplinary committee applied a four week reduction from the entry point and suspended the player from playing for six weeks.

The disciplinary committee, chaired by Rhian Williams along with Simon Thomas and Aurwel Morgan (all Wales), who viewed footage of the incident and listened to representations made by and on behalf of the player, found that the incident was at the top end of the World Rugby/IRB sanctions for this type of offence, meriting a 10 week starting point.

After discounting the weeks in which the player is not due to play rugby, Acosta is free to resume playing from Monday, February 16, 2015 and has the right of appeal.

Law 10.4(a): Punching or striking. A player must not strike an opponent with the fist or arm, including the elbow, shoulder, head or knee(s).