BATH flanker Francois Louw has been suspended for three weeks following a hearing at an independent disciplinary committee in London on Wednesday.

Louw was cited for making contact with the eye area of Benetton Treviso's Marco Fuser, who was also cited for biting in the same incident, during the 23-0 Champions Cup victory at the Recreation Ground at the weekend.

The veteran South African tangled with Fuser at a 77th-minute breakdown, pulling the Italy lock away and then raking his hand across his face.

His three-week ban is at the low end of sanctions available to the committee, who could have suspended Louw for anything between 12 and 52 weeks had they considered his actions to be a serious offence.

A statement from European Professional Club Rugby said: "The committee upheld the citing complaint and determined that the offence warranted a red card.

"The committee found that the offence was at the low end of World Rugby's sanctions and selected four weeks as the appropriate entry point.

"There were no aggravating factors, however, as Louw did not have a clean disciplinary record, the committee decided to reduce the sanction by only one week before imposing a suspension of three weeks."

Meanwhile, the case against Fuser was dismissed after the committee "concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support the charge".

Louw will be available to play again on November 6, although both the player and the EPCR have the right to appeal the decision.