24-week ban for Johnny Sexton after foul-mouthed rant at SA ref Peyper?

Leinster and Ireland flyhalf Johnny Sexton could face a lengthy ban over comments he made towards South African referee Jaco Peyper and his assistants after last month's Champions Cup final.

City A.M. reported over the weekend that Sexton had been charged with a misconduct letter for his comments aimed at the match officials following Leinster's loss to La Rochelle in Dublin.

In an update late on Monday, City A.M. reported that Sexton "could be forced into an early retirement by a 24-week ban".

According to the English publication, that is the mid-range sanction Sexton is facing if found guilty of threatening match officials.

The star pivot has been accused of three disciplinary breaches, the most serious of which relates to section 9.28 of European rugby's rulebook, which states: "A player must not use threatening actions or words towards Match Officials".

??EXC: #Sexton could be forced into retirement with 24-WEEK ban, @CityAM has learned, with meaningful matches and not consecutive weeks potentially forming part of the punishment. https://t.co/Y17DmsQFMW

If found guilty, an independent panel could impose a maximum five-year ban for this offence but that is understood to be unlikely. 

If found guilty only of a low-end offence, Sexton would face a 12-week ban, but that could still rule him out of this year's Rugby World Cup in France.

While the bans are issued in weeks rather than matches, City A.M. reported that the disciplinary panel will make sure that Sexton is banned for meaningful matches rather than empty weeks.

This means that even a 12-week ban could still rule him out of the World Cup.

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In last month's Champions Cup final,