GLASGOW forward Tim Swinson will miss his team’s Champions Cup quarter-final on Sunday after being given a four-week ban by a PRO12 disciplinary panel yesterday. The Scotland forward, who was sent off for dangerous play in his team’s match against Connacht last weekend, will also miss next month’s semi-final if the Warriors get through.

Glasgow had hoped that Swinson would be cleared to play against cup-holders Saracens in the last-eight tie, with head coach Gregor Townsend suggesting after the win over Connacht that what referee Ian Davies might have seen as a punch on a Connacht player was actually an attempt to free the ball. But the three-man panel decided that Davies had been right to show Swinson a red card, and banned the player until Monday 24 April. The Champions Cup semis are the previous weekend, with Glasgow due to play theirs at Murrayfield if they beat Saracens.

“The disciplinary panel found that the referee's decision to show the player a red card was not in error,” PRO12 announced. “The foul play merited a mid-range entry point, which carries a suspension of six weeks.

“There were no off-field aggravating factors, but after considering mitigating factors, the committee reduced the final suspension to four weeks. The ban was therefore reduced by two weeks leaving the player free to resume playing on Monday, April 24.”