Dylan Hartley cleared to play for England in autumn internationals as Jim Mallinder hits out at 'unjustified' citing

England captain cleared to face Wasps this weekend and will not be suspended for England's autumn internationals

Dylan Hartley will not face any further action after his yellow card last weekend (Getty)

Dylan Hartley has been cleared to play for England after his citing complaint for an alleged strike to the head of Clermont Auvergne prop Rabah Slimani was dismissed, prompting a strong response from Northampton Saints over what they describe as an "unjustified" case.

A statement from European Professional Club Rugby confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that an independent panel had dismissed the charge, which means Hartley is free to continue playing and captain England if he is named by Eddie Jones in Thursday's squad announcement.

Hartley was shown a yellow card by referee Ben Whitehouse in Northampton Saints’ 24-7 defeat by Clermont last Saturday after he struck Slimani in the face while clearing out a ruck, with match citing commissioner Douglas Hunter deeming that the hooker had a case to answer.

After appearing at a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday morning in London, Hartley pleaded his case along with Saints’ director of rugby Jim Mallinder, and Saints’ legal representative, Sam Jones.

“An independent disciplinary committee consisting of Jeremy Summers (England), Chairman, Rhian Williams (Wales) and Frank Hadden (Scotland) heard evidence and submissions from Hartley, who pleaded not guilty to the charge,” an EPRC statement read.

“The committee found that Hartley had committed a reckless act of foul play in that he had struck Slimani in the face, however, the committee was not satisfied that the offence had warranted a red card.”

England head coach Eddie Jones also submitted a character witness statement, while Slimani himself also contributed evidence in favour of Hartley.

Hartley has been cleared to play against Wasps this weekend (Getty)

Saints will hope to get back to winning ways in the Premiership this weekend after a chastening fortnight in Europe saw them lose in Clermont, having being thrashed 57-13 by Saracens the week before.

However, Saints’ director of rugby Mallinder issued a strongly-worded statement that questioned whether Hartley’s reputation was now going before him instead of having his actions fairly judged, given that he has served 60 weeks' worth of suspensions during his professional career.

Citings like this do beg the question of whether Dylan is being singled out for what has happened in the past

Jim Mallinder

“The decision to cite Dylan from Saturday’s game against Clermont was unjustified. This was a run-of-the-mill rugby incident during a high intensity game of European rugby,” Mallinder said.

Jim Mallinder issued a sternly-worded statement questioning if Hartley's reputation had led to the citing (Getty)

"Anyone who watched the game could see that this was completely accidental – a misjudgement at a clear–out, plain and simple. When we should be preparing for a crucial league game against Wasps this Saturday, we have instead been distracted by what we believe was an unwarranted judicial hearing.

"Citings like this do beg the question of whether Dylan is being singled out for what has happened in the past rather than being judged solely on Saturday’s game.”

Regardless, the news will be welcomed by Jones as he prepares to name his squad for the autumn internationals, although both Harlequins prop Joe Marler and Wasps No 8 Nathan Hughes face separate disciplinary hearings later on Wednesday afternoon.