England forward James Haskell has received a one-week ban for striking an opponent with his head. The Wasps back-row star will miss his club's Guinness Premiership clash against arch-rivals Leicester at Welford Road on Friday night.
Haskell can resume playing on September 30, a day before Wasps meet Bath at Adams Park. It is another blow for the Premiership champions, whose season has started with succcessive defeats against London Irish, Worcester and Northampton.
Haskell was cited following an incident during Wasps' 11-10 loss to Worcester on September 14. He has the right of appeal.
His team-mate though, lock Richard Birkett, has avoided suspension after being cited for stamping in the same game. Birkett was reprimanded and warned by a Rugby Football Union disciplinary panel chaired by His Honour Judge Jeff Blackett.
It would come as no surprise if Haskell and his club decided to appeal against the ban. Blackett and the panel launched a scathing attack on both the match referee - Leicestershire official Martin Fox - and citing officer Matt Bayliss.
In Blackett's signed report following the hearing in London, he said: "This case has not been handled well by match officials or the citing officer.
"The referee was very close to the incident and must have had a clear view of what occurred, yet he took no or insufficient disciplinary action. This is very disappointing, given the recent IRB (International Rugby Board) directive on 'clearing out'.
"The first act by (Worcester flanker Tom) Wood, in which he jumped into (Phil) Vickery with a swinging arm is exactly the sort of action envisaged in and prohibited by the directive. The IRB have asked for referees to apply zero tolerance to this sort of dangerous play, and that means taking early and decisive action.
"Having not penalised Wood, the referee then observed Vickery grabbing (Greg) Rawlinson by the scrum cap and dragging him into the ruck (the action which was subsequently penalised).
"He then stood by as Rawlinson punched Vickery five times in and around the head, despite Haskell's request for intervention, and then he observed Haskell clearing out Rawlinson by lunging towards him head-first - another example of the behaviour envisaged in the IRB directive.
"Had the referee taken action against Wood initially, then none of the rest of the foul play would have followed. It is almost beyond comprehension that he then decided to penalise Vickery for the least of all of the acts of foul play.
"Unfortunately, the citing officer also took insufficient action. His written observation of what occurred failed to describe adequately or properly the full extent of the various offences committed.
"Although Haskell's citing was correct, the citing officer should also have cited Rawlinson for the punching and Wood for illegal clearing out. By failing to do so, the panel were placed in the invidious position of taking disciplinary action against one person, when other similar acts of foul play in the same incident will remain unpunished because the time limit for citing has passed and there are no exceptional circumstances which would allow those limits to be waived or extended.''
Fox, 46, began refereeing in 1988, joining the RFU's elite referee unit six years ago. His first Premiership game was Sale versus Bath in 2002.