Alivereti Raka banned for 5 weeks

Clermont winger Alivereti Raka has been banned for 5 weeks following his dangerous tackle on scrum-half Paul Abadie in the Top 14 Round 3 victory against Agen.

Raka was only handed a yellow card for the offence by referee Pierre-Baptiste Nuchy.

The dangerous tackle warranted a 6-week suspension, but considering that there was an aggravating factor, in view of his disciplinary record, the sanction was increased by one week, then after taking into account the mitigating circumstances (acknowledgement of guilt, conduct before and during the hearing), this was finally reduced by 2 weeks. As a result, Alivereti Raka receives a total of five suspension games. 

 This leaves him unavailable for the early part of the international window.