Italy captain Sergio Parisse has been suspended after being found guilty of eye gouging New Zealand's Isaac Ross.
Azzurri skipper handed an eight-week ban starting in August
Italy captain Sergio Parisse has been suspended after being found guilty of eye gouging New Zealand's Isaac Ross.
The influential back-rower was cited for "making contact with the eyes or eye area" of the All Blacks lock during Saturday's 27-6 defeat in Christchurch.
International Rugby Board (IRB) judicial officer Paul Tully then handed down an eight-week ban following a hearing on Sunday.
He ruled the offence had been reckless rather than intentional, with mitigating factors including the fact that the contact was brief, occurred in the open, there was no injury to Ross and the initial contact was with Ross's cheek and slipped into the eye.
The Argentina-born Parisse, who plays his club rugby in France for Stade Francais, is now in his five-week off-season following the one-off Test and his suspension will start on August 2.
