Jeff Blackett, the RFU’s disciplinary officer, launched an unprecedented condemnation yesterday of two of the union’s leading match officials. Martin Fox, a member of the RFU’s elite referees department, and Matt Bayliss, a veteran citing officer, received forthright criticism for their handling of an incident of foul play in a recent Guinness Premiership match.

Blackett, a judge and former Advocate General for the Armed Services, described as “almost beyond comprehension” the action taken - or not taken - by Fox during the Premiership match involving London Wasps and Worcester Warriors this month. He then took issue with Bayliss’s reporting of the same incident, which failed to give an RFU disciplinary panel sufficient background to a case it heard on Monday.

The incident brought James Haskell, the Wasps and England back-row forward, in front of the panel on a charge of head-butting, later amended to dangerous play. But Blackett and his panel colleagues, Jeff Probyn and Peter Budge, also reviewed video evidence showing that Haskell’s was almost the last act of a sequence involving Phil Vickery, the Wasps and England prop, and Greg Rawlinson and Tom Wood, the Worcester forwards.

Vickery tried to go through a ruck and Wood attempted to stop him with a swinging arm; Vickery then grabbed Rawlinson’s scrum cap, resulting in a fracas involving him and the two Worcester players, during which Rawlinson punched Vickery five times. Haskell, who had tried to draw Fox’s attention to what was happening, then launched himself into the fray and his head came into contact with Rawlinson’s head.

“This case has not been handled well by the match officials or the citing officer,” Blackett said. “The referee was very close to the incident and must have had a clear view of what occurred, yet he took no or insufficient disciplinary action. Had the referee taken action against Wood initially, none of the rest of the foul play would have developed.”

The upshot is that Haskell has received a minimal suspension of one week, which will prevent him playing in his team’s Premiership match against Leicester on Friday. Richard Birkett, his teammate, who was charged with stamping in a separate incident, was reprimanded and warned but is free to play, judgments described by Ian McGeechan, the Wasps director of rugby, as “fair and full”.

They will cause concern in the RFU, which declared a fortnight ago that it had the best of the world’s professional referees. The actions of Fox and Bayliss and Blackett’s findings will be scrutinised by Ed Morrison, who heads the elite referees department.

The disciplinary panel, Blackett added, had been placed in an “invidious position” by having to deal with only Haskell when there were other acts of foul play in the same incident that could not be punished because the citing window has passed. Haskell needs treatment for a scratched cornea in his right eye and can use the ban for the one-match break that England elite-squad members must take over the opening six weeks of the season.

- Danny Cipriani, the Wasps and England fly half who is recovering from a fracture and dislocation of his right ankle, has played down reports that he will play against Bath a week today. Cipriani has not resumed contact work, but will consult his physiotherapist at the end of this week about his progress.

- Australia have named four uncapped players in their 34-man squad to tour Europe in November. Among the newcomers is James O’Connor, the 18-year-old utility back from Western Force.

- England will host the 2010 women’s World Cup, with the 12 countries involved playing at venues around West London.