Referee Ryan Hoffman issued Jean Deysel a red card for stomping on Jordan Taufua © Getty Images

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SANZAR has suspended Jean Deysel for three weeks, up to and including Saturday, June 7, after the Sharks flanker pleaded guilty to contravening Law 10.4 (b) Stamping or trampling.

Deysel stamped on Crusaders back-rower Jordan Taufua in the 16th minute of the Super Rugby match at AMI Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday, an action for which referee Ryan Hoffman issued him a red card.

Jannie Lubbe, SC, found in the SANZAR judicial hearing that "Deysel stamped with his boot on Taufua and made contact with the neck/head area of the player" in order to free himself after the Crusaders player had "illegally held on to the foot of Deysel, preventing him from joining the line of defence".

Advocate Lubbe ruled "the entry level of the offence was categorised as mid-level which carries a five week suspension ... mainly because of the use of a boot in the head/face area of a player in a vulnerable position on the ground", but the suspension was reduced to three weeks "as a result of compelling mitigating factors".

"The player apologised to his opponent after the match who accepted the apology," Lubbe ruled.

"Deysel is a senior player with an exceptionally good record over a long career who acts as a leader and performs a mentoring role in the team. He pleaded guilty and showed genuine remorse for his actions."

Lubbe said that "stamping is a serious offence. It is an offence that cannot be tolerated in the game because not only is it totally against the spirit of the game, but it carries an inherent potential danger of serious injury to players, especially when contact is made in the head/face area".

Deysel will miss the Sharks' Super Rugby matches against the Blues and the Stormers, in Albany and Durban respectively, as well as one match for his club side in the KwaZulu-Natal competition.