Italy's Hame Faiva has been slapped with a four week ban for his sending off against Ireland last Sunday.
Faiva's high 19th minute tackle on Dan Sheehan earned him a dismissal, and the visitors to the Aviva Stadium were forced to play with 13 men under World Rugby regulations as he had replaced original hooker Gianmarco Lucchesi and the game went to uncontested scrums.
Faiva appeared before an independent judicial committee via video link for an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.13 that states a player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously.
The player defended his tackle, denying that he had committed a red card offence.
But he was hit with the ban that begins ahead of his club Benetton's clash with Leinster this weekend.
A Six Nations statement read: "The player had acted recklessly by committing a high and dangerous tackle whereby his shoulder had made direct contact with the neck of an opponent with significant force.
"This had been correctly sanctioned on field by the match referee following World Rugby’s Head Contact Process.
“On that basis, the Committee applied World Rugby’s mandatory minimum mid-range entry point for foul play resulting in contact with the head. This resulted in a starting point of a six-week suspension.
“Having acknowledged no aggravating factors and mitigating factors including the player’s previous unblemished record, the committee reduced the six-week entry point by two weeks, resulting in a sanction of four weeks.
“The Player may apply to take part in the Coaching Intervention Programme to substitute the final match of his sanction for a coaching intervention aimed at modifying specific techniques and technical issues that contributed to the foul play."
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