Probyn was on the three-man RFU Disciplinary Panel that handed Best the long suspension despite agreeing that the Irish flanker accidentally put his finger in James Haskell's eye as he grabbed hold of the Wasps forward's scrum cap.

But the former England prop has defended what appears to many in the game as a draconian sentence for what amounts to an accident.

Instead Probyn feels Best, who has not been cited in more than 150 games, is running the risk of having his sentence increased when he appears before an appeal panel on Monday night which contains Ian Mill QC, who is part of the same Blackstone Chambers as Haskell's lawyer James Segan.

Speaking on TalkSport, Probyn said: "It is not a draconian sentence. Neil Best got the full discount for his good record previously.

"Normally with eye-gouging incidents you can be given up to three years out, so an 18-week ban is not that bad."

Best immediately apologised to Haskell, who had to go to Northampton General Hospital with the eye injury, after realising what had happened in the Premiership clash at Franklin's Gardens on September 20.

Saints decided to appeal against the length of the sentence on Thursday with the published judgment saying: "The panel accepted that the player had not intentionally searched for Haskell's eye but had tried to grab somewhere on his head to pull him up and backwards. Initial contact with his eye was, therefore, reckless."

Probyn said he, Peter Budge and chairman Jeff Blackett spent "a hell of a long time" discussing the case and trying to come up with a fair verdict.

He feels they came up with a fair punishment for Best in a case that he admitted "had a lot of side issues"' attached to it.

Probyn said: "Best has got to be careful in appealing it, because when you appeal you can actually have the sentence increased.

"He is taking a hell of a gamble, given that he admitted he did it (the eye-gouging).

"I actually sat on the disciplinary, and we had a discussion for two-and-a-half hours to decide where we were going.

"I think Best is taking a dangerous path, because he could easily end up with a longer ban."