Kyle Sinckler will miss England's Six Nations opener against Scotland next month after being suspended for swearing at a match official.
The Bristol tighthead was cited following the Bears' victory against Exeter at the weekend and has been given a two-week suspension by the RFU.
England begin the defence of their Six Nations title against Scotland at Twickenham on Saturday February 6th, but will now be without their first-choice tighthead prop.
His suspension will not begin until later this month, due to the Gallagher Premiership currently on a break for the next fortnight.
Sinckler could be heard on TV shouting "Are you f*****g serious" at referee Karl Dickson during the game, after the player felt he was on the receiving end of a dangerous tackle.
And while he since apologised on social media following the game, the RFU have chosen to make an example of the 27-year-old.
Want to apologise for my reaction today. Not the example I want to be setting. Heat of the moment stuff. Will make a conscious effort to improve. My bad 👊
— Kyle Sinckler (@KyleSinckler) January 9, 2021
In a statement, the RFU say:
"Kyle Sinckler accepted that he used foul language at the Referee, he did not accept the conduct warranted a red card. The Panel viewed the live recordings of the incident and were satisfied that his shout of ‘are you f****** serious’ was:
- Aggressive
- Was directed at the referee. It followed almost immediately after the Referee explained that he had determined that the Exeter Chief’s Player who had tackled Kyle Sinckler had attempted to wrap his arms. Kyle Sinckler turned his head towards the referee before he shouted at him.
- On review with the TMO the Referee did penalise the Player who had tackled him.
"The Player was candid in his evidence as to why he had done so and regretted his actions. The Panel found that his actions disrespected the authority of the Referee and it was in breach of a core value of Rugby - respect of match officials - and warranted a red card.
"The Panel determined that in all the circumstances it was a low entry point with no relevant mitigation. The sanction is a two-week ban."
Sinckler is free to play as of February 9th 2021.
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