Rugby comment: By-passing of ban does no favours to the game

Leicester Tigers have already lost out in their bid to level an "uneven playing field" created by Perpignan's decision to play hooker Marius Tincu in spite of him being banned for 18 weeks.

The French Top 14 side who are in Tigers' Heineken Cup group, have shown disregard for the suspension handed out by the Heineken Cup's governing body, European Rugby Cup Ltd (ERC), for an eye-gouging incident against Ospreys in mid-October.

RFU disciplinary officer Judge Jeff Blackett presided over the Tincu hearing and said it was impossible to back Perpignan's claims of their players' innocence.

"To say, as Perpignan have said, that there wasn't a shred of evidence is absolute nonsense," he said.

Undaunted, Perpignan appealed to French governing bodies the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) and the Comite National Olympique et Sportif Francais (CNOSF) – the supreme legal body for sport in France – claiming that Tincu should not be banned from playing in the domestic French league for an offence committed in the Heineken Cup.

They agreed with the Catalan club's claims and gave the green light for Tincu to appear in domestic matches.

An LNR statement read: "This decision marks the first step in affirming the primacy of French law over all other considerations within the framework of the course of disciplinary proceedings."

The Romanian hooker subsequently returned to action for his club against Castres in the Top 14 on December 20 despite being banned until March 9.

Not only does Perpignan's decision to play Tincu make a mockery of the Heineken Cup's disciplinary process, it could also open the floodgates to anarchy if other clubs decide to go down the same route.

While Perpignan have had the benefit of Tincu's services during the Top 14 in recent weeks, Tigers have struggled without scrum-half Harry Ellis, who is currently a month into a six-week ban picked up for a "dangerous tackle" on Perpignan's Dan Carter.

Leicester have no body similar to the CNOSF to appeal to.

Tigers head of operations Simon Cohen called the situation a "uneven playing field" and revealed that the club had approached the Rugby Union (RFU) to "look into the situation" on their behalf several weeks ago.

"As soon as Tincu played, we notified the RFU that an uneven playing field had been created and asked them to look into the situation," he said.

"We have not heard back from them but we are aware that an inquiry has been launched.

"While it has not helped us in that Tincu has played for Perpignan while Ellis has not played in our domestic competition, at least we hope the situation is resolved."

One possible outcome is that Perpignan could be banned from the Heineken Cup, giving Tigers one foot in the quarter-finals already ahead of Saturday's game with Treviso.

But Rugby's governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB) have dragged their feet on the issue.

They have not responded to any of the Mercury's calls asking for a comment on the situation over the last seven days.

They have also waited until three weeks after Tincu played before announcing last Friday they were "launching an inquiry" into the issue.

An IRB statement said: "The panel will undertake a full review of the facts and circumstances relating to the case including the identification of the steps available, if any, to ensure all rugby sanctions are applied in France.

"The panel will also look into how, moving forward, rugby can best ensure that there is no further repetition of such events."

By side-stepping the ERC suspension, Perpignan have done the equivalent of asking dad to watch TV after mum has said 'no'.

If the IRB fail to come down on Perpignan like a ton of bricks, the floodgates could open and encourage other sides with players banned for Heineken Cup misdemeanours to play them in their domestic competitions.

CNOSF's decision in favour of Tincu severely waters down any international bans. It says a player can now play in his domestic league even after an international ban.

It sets a dangerous precedent, which could lead to more foul play in European competitions, especially from a side already out of a given pool with games to play.

Leicester's Seru Rabeni was handed a further nine-week ban for playing in a charity Sevens tournament last summer while suspended.

Tincu and Perpignan are yet to face any sanctions for playing a banned player in one of the world's leading competitions.

Tigers – and the rest of the rugby world – will await the IRB's verdict with interest.