McCarthy suspended for two weeks

Connacht blindside Mike McCarthy has been suspended for two weeks for a dangerous tackle on Vincent Clerc during his province's Heineken Cup defeat to Toulouse.

The Ireland international was yellow carded for the high tackle on Clerc during the first half of the clash, which Connacht lost 10-36 at the Sportsgrounds in Galway.

McCarthy accepted that he had committed an act of foul play, but disputed that the tackle warranted a red card.

The citing complaint was upheld by the independent judicial officer, Roger Morris of Wales. He determined that the incident was at the lower end of the scale for the offence under Law 10.4, and gave McCarthy a two-week suspension.

A week was added to suspension on the basis of McCarthy’s disciplinary record, but a week was then taken off due to his guilty plea and conduct during the hearing.

McCarthy will miss Connacht’s RaboDirect Pro12 games against Ospreys this weekend, and Treviso a week later.

He will be available for their Heineken Cup Round 3 clash with Gloucester on Saturday, 10 December.

The ERC also announced today that London Irish centre Steven Shingler received a four-week ban for his dangerous tackle during his side’s Heineken Cup clash with Cardiff Blues.

Shingler was red carded for a tip tackle on Blues centre Dafydd Hewitt.

His suspension was increased from six weeks – the entry point for the 'mid level' offence – to eight as a deterrent but then reduced to four weeks on account of his good record.