Cardiff have lodged an official complaint over alleged foul play by Lions that has left Gonzalo Bertranou facing surgery.
The scrum-half was forced off in the 19th minute of last week’s 34-13 defeat in Johannesburg with a serious head injury.
Cardiff have confirmed the Argentinian suffered a concussion and a fractured cheekbone and was undergoing surgery in Cardiff on Wednesday.
Head coach Matt Sherratt said the club complained the injury had been caused by a deliberate strike to the face by the unnamed Lions’ tackler.
However he said Cardiff were informed by United Rugby Championship (URC) there had not been a “clear and obvious” error by the match officials.
“I don’t usually say this but I wasn’t very happy with the action that led to the injury,” said Sherratt.
“It looked like a swinging arm [and] we’ve gone through the right channels with it.
“It was never going to be clear and obvious but I was gutted for him because it was a nasty injury.”
