France centre Jonathan Danty will miss the rest of the Six Nations after being handed a five-week suspension on Tuesday following his red card against Italy.
The 31-year-old will miss France’s final two matches of the tournament next month, away to Wales and at home to England.
“The player admitted that he had committed an act of foul play and that it had been worthy of a red card.,” read a statement on the Six Nations site after Danty appeared at a disciplinary hearing by video link.
“The Disciplinary Committee accepted that the player had acted recklessly, and not maliciously or with intent,” the statement added.
Danty earned red in Lille on Sunday after a hit on Italian centre Juan Ignacio Brex, his tackle was deemed high and after initially being shown a yellow card, it was upgraded to a red by the television match official.
“The Disciplinary Committee also highlighted that the player had accepted guilt at the earliest opportunity and shown immediate remorse on the field of play,” the statement noted.
The committee decided that the incident was worthy of a six-week suspension but reduced it by two weeks due to “mitigating factors”, namely Danty’s “apology, acknowledgement of guilt and good conduct at the hearing”.
However, due to the player’s disciplinary record one week was added to the suspension, resulting in the five-week ban that ends his participation in the 2024 Six Nations.
Reduced to 14 men just before half-time, France floundered to a 13-13 draw at home to Italy. Les Bleus only narrowly avoiding a first defeat to the visitors in over a decade when an 82nd-minute Paolo Garbisi penalty struck the post.
The La Rochelle player’s ban gives France coach Fabien Galthie an unwanted headache as he is already having to make do without captain Antoine Dupont, who is missing this Six Nations to prepare with the French sevens team for the Paris Olympics.
Galthie’s side were hammered by Ireland in their opening match before edging Scotland. Sunday’s draw left them struggling in fourth in the table topped by unbeaten Ireland.
