Wednesday 25 October 2017 15:30, UK
England captain and Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley has had a citing complaint against him dismissed.
Hartley was cited following Saints' Champions Cup loss at Clermont on Saturday but has been cleared following an independent Disciplinary Hearing in London on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old will therefore be free to lead England in their international fixtures this autumn.
Hartley was cited after Saturday's match, having been sent to the sin-bin for striking Clermont prop Rabah Slimani during the defeat.
He pleaded not guilty to the offence and the panel decided on Wednesday that he should not be sanctioned further.
The tournament organisers released a statement which read: "It was found Hartley had committed a reckless act of foul play in that he had struck Slimani in the face.
"However, the committee was not satisfied that the offence had warranted a red card."
The entry-point sanction for striking with the hand is a two-week ban, rising to eight weeks and above according to severity.
And Hartley's poor disciplinary record, which has caused him to miss 60 weeks of his career, meant any sanction incurred for Saturday's incident could have been increased.
However, having captained England with distinction since Eddie Jones took charge as coach, Hartley is free to lead the side for the upcoming matches against Argentina, Australia and Samoa at Twickenham, although his place at hooker remains under threat from Lions tourist Jamie George.
Northampton do not think Hartley should have been cited in the first place and believe his past record is being held against him.
Saints' director of rugby Jim Mallinder said: "The decision to cite Dylan from Saturday's game against Clermont was unjustified.
"This was a run-of-the-mill rugby incident during a high intensity game of European rugby.
"Anyone who watched the game could see that this was completely accidental - a misjudgement at a clear-out, plain and simple.
"When we should be preparing for a crucial league game against Wasps this Saturday, we have instead been distracted by what we believe was an unwarranted judicial hearing.
"Citings like this do beg the question of whether Dylan is being singled out for what has happened in the past rather than being judged solely on Saturday's game."
Clermont hooker Benjamin Kayser also thought any further punishment would have been harsh on Hartley.
"I think a sanction was merited because a penalty is a penalty," said the France hooker.
"Should it have been a red card? No, come on.
"Rugby is rugby and if you say that any hit on the head is a red card, there will be 25 a match."
Watch Eddie Jones' squad announcement live on Sky Sports News at 9am on Thursday, October 26.
