Mike Brown’s Harlequins career appears to be over after he was given a six-week ban for stamping.
Brown, 35, who will join Newcastle next season, was sent off for treading on the head of Wasps hooker Tommy Taylor in their Premiership win on Sunday.
A disciplinary hearing decided the accidental stamp warranted a high-end sanction of 12 weeks.
It was reduced to six because of the England international’s unblemished disciplinary record and guilty plea.
It was the first red card of his 16-year career. Even if Harlequins reach the Premiership play-offs, Brown will not be involved as things stand with only four rounds of the regular season left. He has the right to appeal against the outcome. Referee Wayne Barnes sent off the full-back in the 43rd minute of Sunday’s thriller at the Twickenham Stoop after he and television match official Stuart Terheege decided Brown’s actions were “seriously reckless”.
Quins remarkably went on to win the match 48-46 to give themselves a nine-point cushion in fourth place, but Brown’s 351st appearance for the club appears to have been his last.
He agreed to join Newcastle in April after Harlequins decided not to extend his contract.
In a club statement, Quins acknowledged the outcome of the disciplinary hearing and the ban handed out to Brown.
They said neither the club nor the player would not be making any further comment until a later date.
Brown won the last of his 72 England caps in 2018 against South Africa, although he was involved in the build-up to the 2019 World Cup as a member of an extended training squad. (bbcsport)