London Welsh head coach Justin Burnell has revealed that Tom May was left feeling "distraught" following his dismissal against London Irish earlier today.

The 35-year-old was shown his marching orders for swinging an elbow into the face of Dan Leo in the first half of the Exiles' 24-9 defeat at the Madejski Stadium.

Leo retaliated by grappling his opposite number down to the ground, which earned him a red card of his own.

"We saw the incident involving Dylan Hartley last week and there is obviously a similarity for the referee to consider," Burnell is quoted as saying by ESPN.

"Tom May is distraught as it's probably the first time in his career that he's been dismissed and he feels he's lets his teammates down."

Welsh have lost their first 11 games in the Aviva Premiership to remain well adrift at the foot of the standings.