Five Spanish players have been suspended for accosting the referee after their controversial 18-10 loss to Belgium in March.

Spain’s loss resulted in Romania qualifying for the 2019 World Cup at their expense.

At the final whistle, furious Spanish players surrounded Romanian referee Vlad Lordachescu, who had awarded 18 penalties against them.

Federación Española de Rugby has demanded a replay, while World Rugby has assembled an independent dispute committee to examine issues arising from the controversial match.

On Tuesday, a Rugby Europe judicial committee suspended five Spanish players, with replacement Sebastien Rouet banned for 43 weeks and his brother, Guillaume, who started the game, receiving 36. Both French-born scrumhalves were found guilty of physically and verbally abusing the referee.

Flanks Pierre Barthere and Lucas Guillaume, and flyhalf Mathieu Belie were found guilty of ‘threatening actions/words at a match official’ and each banned for 14 weeks.

The punishments apply to all levels of rugby.

Photo: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images