Bordeaux-Begles prop Jefferson Poirot has been given a two-match ban after grabbing the throat of Northampton’s Henry Pollock after the Investec Champions Cup final.
Tempers flared in Cardiff after the full-time whistle as the French club secured a breakthrough European triumph in a captivating 28-20 battle.
Pollock was involved in a fracas with a number of Bordeaux-Begles players, including the replaced loosehead Poirot.
The veteran prop was cited for an act that Saints boss Phil Dowson described as "uncalled for and out of order" and has now been given a two-match suspension by an independent disciplinary panel.
Poirot accepted that he had committed an act of foul play that warranted a red card, with a four-week entry point cut in half due to his guilty plea and his good disciplinary record.
In the wake of the final defeat, Northampton fly half Fin Smith questioned why Poirot and his teammates had confronted the young flanker, believing him to have been deliberately targeted.
“They were after him,” Smith said of Pollock. “I don't think they liked him.
"I remember they (Bordeaux players) all sort of charged at him and were trying to get hold of him.
"I am surprised if you have just won a European Cup, the first thing you want to do is start a fight with a 20-year-old. I felt that was interesting."
Subsequent images shared on social media appeared to show members of the squad at the Top 14 club mocking the expressive Pollock’s celebrations.
Poirot, capped 36 times by France, is in line to miss the Bordeaux-Begles games against Toulon and Vannes, though will be available for the play-offs with his club currently second in the table.
