Saracens winger Chris Ashton was yellow carded for a dangerous high tackle he made on Harlequins forward Maurie Fa’asavalu in the Aviva Premiership last weekend. A suspension looked likely, but he has been cleared and faces no further punishment.
On his Premiership return following a disappointing Six Nations with England, Ashton stuck out a swinging arm as Quins upped the tempo after a Mike Brown break.
His hand seemed to connect with big Fa’asavalu and floored him. Ashton’s remorse was clear to see but referee Greg Garner refereed to the TMO, who then recommended a sin-binning.
It was Ashton’s fifth yellow card of the season and after a careful video review from RFU citing officer Bruce Reece-Russel, it was concluded that the appropriate action was taken by the officials.
“He mistimed the challenge, there was no intent to cause any harm it was just one of those things,” said Saracens Director of Rugby, Mark McCall. “He’s been brilliant all week for a guy who’s taken some criticism over the last few weeks so it is disappointing.”
Ashton turns 26 tomorrow so will no doubt be pleased to be free to play against Wasps on Saturday.
You can view a highlights wrap of the Saracens vs Harlequins game here
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