Gavin Henson is to appeal his ban that was recently imposed arising from a citing by Disciplinary Commissioner Bill Dunlop


ERC reveals Henson to contest ban

European Rugby Cup has confirmed that the Ospreys have made an official appeal against Wales centre Gavin Henson's 10 weeks and two days ban.
An independent appeal committee will be appointed to hear the appeal and be convened as soon as is practicable.

However, BBC Sport understands that is unlikely to take place before Friday.

As it stands, Henson will miss the first three games of Wales' Six Nations defence after being found guilty of elbowing Leicester prop Alex Moreno.

On 23 December an ERC disciplinary panel found Henson, 23, guilty of elbowing Moreno in a fractious Heineken Cup victory in Swansea, that also saw team-mate Ian Evans kick Leicester scrum-half Harry Ellis.

Henson's current ban rules him out of all rugby until 5 March, while Evans is out until 19 February.

That includes Wales' Six Nations matches against England, Scotland and Ireland, plus important Celtic League games and the final two Heineken Cup pool fixtures .

Go for the appeal - as things stand, Henson's unlikely to feature in the Six Nations, so nothing to lose



Fighting the case risks an extension on Henson's ban, but equally the penalties could be slashed, or remain unchanged.

Wales coach Mike Ruddock believes the Ospreys have a case to appeal against Henson's 10-week ban.

"No doubt Gavin has a case to answer, but I am not sure if the length of ban is spot-on," Ruddock told Sportsweek.

Ruddock said Henson was guilty of foul play, but believes rugby's disciplinary bodies are lacking consistency.

He pointed to two recent incidents in which players received lesser bans for elbowing.

France captain Fabien Pelous was banned for nine weeks for elbowing Australia's Brendan Cannon in November, while South Africa skipper Jon Smit got a six-week ban for striking France's Jerome Thion.

"I have noted that for use of the elbow there have been two or three different sentences," Ruddock added. "That is something that needs to be considered."

For an insight into Bill Dunlop's role read on

23 December 2005, 2:17 pm
ERC Press Release: Henson Citing Outcome
© Getty Images

The citings against Ospreys player Gavin Henson, lodged after the Round 4 Heineken Cup Pool 3 match between the Ospreys and Leicester Tigers on Sunday, 18 December, were heard by an independent Disciplinary Committee in Glasgow today (Friday, 23 December).
The citings were lodged by ERC appointed Citing Commissioner for the match, Bill Dunlop (Scotland).
An independent Disciplinary Committee, chaired by Rod McKenzie (SRU) and completed by Dr Barry O'Driscoll (IRFU) and Professor Lorne D. Crerar (SRU), found that:

CITING 1: Contravention of Law: 10.4 (a) - Punching or striking: A player must not strike an opponent with the fist or arm, including the elbow, shoulder, head or knee(s).

The citing was upheld and the independent Disciplinary Committee found that the player intentionally struck an opponent with his elbow.

The player was suspended for 10 weeks and two days, starting with immediate effect. The suspension will run up to and including Sunday, 5 March, 2006.

The independent Disciplianry Commmittee did not find it established that the player had kicked an opponent and that part of the citing was dismissed.

Both parties were advised of the right to appeal.

ERC DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE

(i) Citing Commissioner
a) for live televised games a Citing Commissioner will be appointed by ERC and shall be entitled to cite a Player for any act or acts of Foul Play that in the Citing Commissioner's opinion warranted the player being shown a red card.
b) Clubs will not have the power to cite a player but may refer incidents to the Citing Commissioner within 12 hours of the conclusion of the match.
c) The Citing Commissioner will have 50 hours from the start of the game to make a citing and the determination of the Citing Commissioner will be final and binding.
d) Should the Citing Commissioner decide there is a case to answer he will notify the Disciplinary Officer and the Disciplinary Officer will then bring a charge against the cited player.
e) This case will then proceed to a disciplinary hearing.

(ii) Citing Officer
a) for non-televised games, where a player is cited by either of the clubs competing in the match, his case shall be immediately referred to the Citing Officer.
b) The citing must be submitted in writing and received by the Citing Officer within 50 hours of the start of the match. The Citing Officer will consider the citing and decide whether the player cited has a case to answer.
c) After this review, if the Citing Officer determines there is no case to answer, no further action will be taken. The determination of the Citing Officer will be final and binding.
d) Should the Citing Officer decide there is a case to answer he will notify the Disciplinary Officer and the Disciplinary Officer will then bring a charge against the cited player.
e) This case will then proceed to a Disciplinary Hearing.

(iii) Independent Disciplinary Committee
a) The independent Disciplinary Committee is chosen by the Chairman of Discipline, Professor Lorne Crerar.
b) The three-man panel normally consists of a legal expert (Chairman), an eminent rugby administrator and former player.
c) No member of the independent Disciplinary Committee may be chosen from a country whose club is a party to the complaint.
d) The ERC Disciplinary Officer, Roger O'Connor, presents the case against any cited player

This article was originally posted on 4-Jan-2006, 09:40 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 4-Jan-2006, 18:59.