All the frustration that the Lions carry with them after failing to take the series with South Africa to a decider at Coca-Cola Park here on Saturday was epitomised by Mike Phillips.

The Wales scrum half called Schalk Burger’s behaviour “disgusting” after the gouging of Luke Fitzgerald and demanded to know why the Springbok flanker had not been given a red card.

It will be no consolation whatsoever to the Lions that, late last night, Burger was suspended for eight weeks after being cited by Steve Hinds, the match commissioner. He will miss the third and final match of the series next weekend and half the Tri-Nations programme, but with South Africa having established an unbeatable 2-0 lead, the Lions will be playing for pride only.

A disciplinary hearing was convened in Pretoria yesterday lunchtime for Burger, who had led out South Africa the day before in celebration of his 50th appearance and then, 32 seconds into the game, was sent to the sin-bin on the recommendation of Bryce Lawrence, the touch judge.

At the initial hearing, Fitzgerald and Richard Smith, the Lions lawyer, together with the relevant match officials, gave evidence to Alan Hudson, the Canadian judicial officer. There was then an adjournment to allow SA Rugby officials to prepare Burger’s defence, before the hearing was reconvened in Johannesburg and lasted a further eight hours.

A second Springbok forward, Bakkies Botha, was also cited and suspended for a fortnight for a dangerous charge on Adam Jones that left the Ospreys prop with a dislocated right shoulder. He will also miss Saturday’s game, but it has been suggested that there may be changes anyway with the series having been decided.

Botha will be available when South Africa play the first of their Tri- Nations games, against New Zealand in Bloemfontein on July 25.

The Lions have been left with feelings of outrage, at what their players perceive to be a failure by the match officials, and for the Lions management over the reaction of Peter de Villiers, the South Africa coach, to Burger’s actions.

De Villiers claimed after the match that there was no justification for a card at all and that it was “all part of sport”, but the coach is already in hot water and has been summoned to a meeting with Oregan Hoskins, the president of SA Rugby, to explain comments made last week that could be taken as racist in content.

Immediately after the game on Saturday Fitzgerald said he had tried to remove Burger’s fingers from his right eye and believed it to be a “strange” decision that the flanker had been given only a yellow card. “I was surprised not only by the actions of one professional player against another, but that a player of Burger’s quality and experience would do something like that,” the Ireland wing said.

Phillips was more forthright. “It was a clear red card. You can’t do things like that, it’s disgusting,” he said. There were hints later that there could have been more than one gouging incident. “It’s cost us the game really,” Phillips added. “Guys were swinging punches off the ball. We can play hard, we can play tough, but we try to play within the rules.

“As a professional you work your socks off all year, you come to the pinnacle of your sport and it’s things like that that put you off. It’s in the referee’s hands, they’re paid to do a job, just as we’re paid to play and entertain. Then a couple of dodgy decisions in the second half by the referee cost us.”

Burger’s was not the only case of gouging over the weekend: Sergio Parisse, the Italy captain, was similarly suspended for eight weeks in Christchurch yesterday after an incident with Isaac Ross, the New Zealand lock, during the All Blacks’ 27-6 win. The hearing there found mitigating circumstances for an offence that normally carries a 12-week starting-point ban, but there will be few offering mitigation for De Villiers, who said: “I don’t think it was a card at all. I did see the evidence but it came in the first minute of the game.”