Wales star Liam Williams made an unprompted phone call to referee Craig Evans to apologise for his actions during the Scarlets' defeat to the Cardiff Blues a fortnight ago.
Near the end of the first half, Williams charged into a ruck head first and made contact with the head of Wales colleague Shane Lewis-Hughes, who was prone on the floor.
After consulting with his TMO, Welsh referee Evans - taking charge of his 16th PRO14 match - was left with no option but to show Williams a red card.
Upon receiving his marching orders, Williams uttered: "We'll start playing touch, is it?"
He received a three-match ban for his red card - after one week was removed for remorse shown, despite his comment - and will miss two Scarlets games and Wales' Six Nations opener against Ireland.
Speaking on the incident, Scarlets boss Glenn Delaney said: "He had a phone call with the referee afterwards. It was a hot-headed moment.
"I think we've all been in those situations. Nobody is condoning it.
"Unprompted, Liam made the call to Craig, the referee, and Craig accepted that. He'd moved on as well."
Delaney added: "Liam understands. Deep down, he's a competitor who plays on the edge but he knows that's a step too far.
"The sanction comes first, so it's all been dealt with 100 per cent correctly. He was lost for our game for a period of time and now he's sitting out three games.
"There's an impact on us and the national side. There are massive consequences to that event.
"It's been spoken about in detail and there are a lot of opinions around it, which is the nature of the game."
Another conversation Williams has had since the incident is with Wales head coach Wayne Pivac.
Williams has been named, as expected, in Pivac's 36-man squad for the upcoming Six Nations, despite being off limits for the curtain raiser.
Earlier in his career, Williams had been prone to letting his blood run a little too hot on occasions, but Pivac will be hoping that the 70-cap Test Lion will be able to keep his emotions in check.
"I spoke to Liam on the weekend that it happened. I was at the game and it was disappointing for all concerned," said Pivac.
"Liam has been out of the game for a while, he’s a frustrated player and he just wants to get out there. He hasn’t had the contact but he’s that sort of player, he’s a physical player by nature.
"He made an error of judgement and he’ll pay the price by missing three matches, which won’t help his preparation for the Six Nations.
"He’ll also miss a Test match as a result."
