NORTHAMPTON flanker Neil Best is seeking legal advice after receiving an 18-week ban for gouging.

The Irish international pleaded guilty to a disciplinary panel of making contact with the eye area of Wasps’ James Haskell.

Haskell’s evidence accused Best of a deliberate and prolonged act of gouging that “led to blurred vision, excruciating pain and feeling sick.”

Best is the second Saints player to be banned for gouging in a year after Dylan Hartley’s six-month suspension.

A Saints spokesman said: “The club and player will seek legal advice.”