Italy pair hit with bans for red cards against Ireland

ITALY DUO GIACOMO Nicotera and Ross Vintcent have been banned for four and three games, respectively, following their red cards against Ireland in the Six Nations at the weekend.

Replacement back row Vintcent was initially shown a yellow card in Rome after his head-on-head tackle on Hugo Keenan.

That sanction was then upgraded to a 20-minute red card following an off-pitch review. Similarly, sub hooker Nicotera had his punishment increased to a red card during a review after he had charged into a ruck and made contact with Peter O’Mahony’s head in the 79th minute.

The Italian pair appeared before an independent Disciplinary Committee this afternoon via video link.

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Nicotera and Vintcent’s bans will rule them out of club duty for Stade Francais and Exeter Chiefs, respectively.

The independent Disciplinary Committee was chaired by Simon Thomas (Wales), joined by former international player Martyn Wood (England) and former referee Val Toma (Romania).