RACING 92 WILL be without their Argentinian fullback Juan Imhoff for the final two rounds of the Champions Cup pool stages after he was slapped with a five-week suspension this afternoon.
The 29-year-old was sent off in the 64th minute of Saturday’s all-French clash between Racing and Castres for headbutting scrum-half Rory Kockott, and today received a ban from an ECPR disciplinary committee.
Imhoff will now be unavailable for Racing’s final Pool 4 games against Munster and Leicester Tigers in January.
The panel upheld Wayne Barnes’ decision to show Imhoff a red card and found that the offence was at a mid-range point of World Rugby’s sanctions which warranted a 10-week suspension.
However, there were a number of mitigating factors — including the player’s guilty plea and previously clear disciplinary record — and it was decided to reduce the sanction in half.
Imhoff will be free to play again on 22 January, the day after the pool stages are due to conclude. He does, however, have the right to appeal the decision.
After the weekend’s win over Castres, Racing go into round five second in the pool and four points behind Munster, who they welcome to Paris on the second weekend of January.
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