ULSTER RUGBY player Andrew Warwick has been handed a two-game ban, after his red card in last Saturday’s Pro14 clash against Leinster.

The 29-year-old forward was punished for leading with an elbow as opponent Ed Byrne tried to tackle him.

Warwick is now set to miss his side’s upcoming Pro14 fixtures against Dragons and Zebre.

An official Pro14 statement added: “The Player was shown a red card by referee Frank Murphy under Law 9.11 Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others.

“The Player faced a Disciplinary Panel consisting Roddy MacLeod (Chair), Frank Hadden and Beth Dickens (all SRU), who concluded that an act of foul play had occurred. The Player raised his fore-arm prior to contact with an opponent, which led to contact to the neck / head area of the opponent.  The Panel found that this was reckless conduct.  However, as the contact to the opponent’s neck was secondary contact and there was no injury to the opponent, the Panel found that it merited a low-end entry point.  The Panel had regard to World Rugby’s notes to the application of Law 9.11 and considered that it was not bound to impose a mid-range entry point. 

“The Player is suspended from participating in the next two meaningful matches. Should a game be cancelled or postponed during this window of games, the player and Pro14 are to submit updated fixtures to the Disciplinary Panel so the return date can be advised.”