Former international referee Kelvin Deaker said the decision dampened the game as a spectacle, but he felt that Rolland was accurately following the International Rugby Board's rules.
"His decision was 100 per cent right if you look at the wording [in the rulebook]. If Alain Rolland didn't do that, he would be going against the laws the IRB put down. He was backed into a corner."
Mr Deaker, a New Zealander, said it was wrong to expect referees to be more lenient for a big occasion, but he also empathised with supporters who felt the semifinal was undermined.
"We can't have players at risk, but we can't ruin a game either," he said. "I hope I never have to make a decision like it."
The IRB issued a statement yesterday backing Rolland and reminding players of its strict stance on spear tackles. The IRB's rulebook states that when a lifted player is dropped to the ground from a height with no regard to the player's safety, it is a red card offence.
On Saturday, Warburton lifted the smaller Clerc off his feet and, while he appeared to release the winger, Clerc still landed heavily on his head and shoulders.
Welsh fans felt the referee should have considered the spirit of the game, not the letter of the law, in making the decision.
"You have ruined it! Ruined this game!" supporter Brett Davis yelled from the Eden Park stands on Saturday night.
"Fancy coming all this way, paying this much, to be beaten by a referee," he told the Herald.
Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones joined the quarrel after watchingthe game in horror with 60,000fans on giant TV screens at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
"It was the wrong decision and it wrecked the game.
"I thought Sam was unlucky. It was a clumsy tackle and a yellow card, not a red card," Mr Jones said.
"The game was destroyed from that point on. It's not easy being a referee but I thought Rolland got it wrong."
Mr Deaker said his advice for Rolland was to avoid reading newspapers and listening to radio because such heavy criticism was hard to forget: "You have to censor yourself. I would go to the bach for a couple of days."
Warburton's lawyer, Rhodri Lewis, said after the IRB meeting last night that the Welsh Rugby Union was "obviously naturally disappointed that Sam will not be available to play on Friday".
"Sam has been an exemplary captain for Wales throughout the Rugby World Cup," Mr Lewis said.
An IRB spokesman said: "The judicial officer concluded the offence was mid-range on the scale of seriousness, which has an entry point of six weeks."
The suspension was reduced to three weeks because of mitigating features including Warburton's admission, outstanding character and disciplinary record and remorse.
