England wing and former Lions tourist Mark Cueto has been sited for ‘making contact with the eye or eye area’ of an opponent.
Cueto faces a maximum 24-week suspension if found guilty, leaving his World Cup dreams in danger of passing him by.
The Sale star, whose disallowed try was one of the major talking points of the 2007 World Cup Final against South Africa, has been cited following his club side’s defeat to Northampton last weekend.
Cueto was involved a heated incident with Saints lock Christian Day, with images of the altercation caught on camera as the Franklin’s Gardens clash was a live TV affair.
The 2005 Test Lion will appear before an RFU disciplinary hearing on Monday, having been dropped for Sale’s Premiership tie with Gloucester tomorrow.
Even if it is ruled that contact was inadvertent, Cueto would still be likely to face the same punishment as Wales scrum-half Richie Rees who received the minimum 12-week suspension for a similar incident last December.
That would bring an end to Cueto’s season but it would mean he would be available for England’s World Cup warm up matches in August.
A top-end sanction of 24 weeks would be more critical as it would leave Cueto sidelined until after England’s opening World Cup group game with Argentina on September 10.
