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Chiefs player Ben May (prop) has been suspended for three weeks after being found guilty of stamping on an opponent during the Super 14 match on Saturday against the Lions at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
A Sanzar Disciplinary Committee barred May from all rugby until 31st May 2008.
May was charged with stamping or trampling Lions flanker Joe van Niekerk, which resulted in a judicial hearing late Sunday evening in Durban.
One of the Touch Judges, Deon van Blommenstein, alerted the match referee to the incident which took place in the 23rd minute of the second half. As a result, referee Stuart Dickenson showed May the red card.
The hearing was held before Judicial Officer Dekker Govender . May was represented by barrister Timothy J. Castle of Wellington (NZ). Evidence was also heard from Ian Foster (Chiefs coach) and the player.
After careful consideration of all the evidence, including clear video evidence of the incident, and submissions made on behalf of the player, the Committee found that the offence was reckless but not intentional.
In handing down sentence, the Committee took into account the fact that the player had an unblemished record at Super 14 and provincial level. Furthermore, the fact that the referee disallowed a try as a direct result of the incident was also taken into consideration by Govender when he imposed the sanction against the player.