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Cape Town - Saracens captain Brad Barritt has apologised after he was banned for a dangerous tackle in the English Premiership.
The 30-year-old South African-born England centre admitted the charge of performing a dangerous tackle on Exeter lock Geoff Parling in the 13-13 Premiership draw last Saturday.
He will miss the upcoming European Champions Cup pool games with Scarlets and three-time winners Toulon after receiving a three-week ban.
His team-mate and prop Richard Barrington, who was sent off for his role in the incident, was absolved by the Rugby Football Union disciplinary panel as they adjudged Parling was already unconscious following the tackle by Barritt - the 33-year-old England second row forward was stretchered off.
Barritt also took to Twitter to apologise to Parling and fans:
My sincere apologises to @geoffparling and the fans watching... pic.twitter.com/3tljyzD9fZ
— Brad Barritt (@bradbarritt) January 9, 2017
A statement from the RFU read: "The incident arose out of the specific dynamic of Parling falling unconscious into what would have otherwise been a legitimate contact by Mr Barrington.
"In line with the new sanctions a mid-range entry of six weeks was imposed on Barritt reduced to three weeks in light of mitigation including his guilty plea."
Barritt, who started his professional career at the Sharks in South Africa, played 26 Tests for England between 2012 and 2015.
