Stade Francais prop David Attoub has been hit with a massive 70-week ban after being found guilty of eye-gouging by the ERC.

The huge ban completely overshadows the 23-week ban handed down to team-mate Julien Dupuy.

Both incidents stem from the same match - Stade's Heineken Cup defeat away to Ulster on December 12 2009. Dupuy and Attoub were found guilty of eye-gouging Ulster's Stephen Ferris, but the latter's far heavier sanction reflects his previous conviction for a similar offence, and also the fact that he did not plead guilty after being charged.

Heineken Cup Pools & Fixtures

ERC disciplinary officer Judge Jeff Blackett - who chaired both players' hearings - described Attoub's offence as "the worst act of contact with the eyes that I have had to deal with: it is a case of deliberate eye gouging."

Attoub will now be ineligible to play again until April 22 2011, although Stade Francais are bound to appeal the decision - as they did with Dupuy's.

Dupuy was originally slapped with a 24-week ban, but that was reduced by just one week on a technicality following the club's appeal.

Stade Francais president Max Guazzini described Dupuy's original ban as "anti-French" and "political", and he was no less annoyed by the appeal decision.

"It is a very heavy sanction. He [Ferris] said there was no gouging. The fact that Dupuy is French probably played a role," he said after Wednesday's hearing. And he also indicated that the club will continue to fight the ban through France's domestic governing bodies - the FFR and the LNR. "This suspension is totally unjustified," he complained.

The ERC's appeal committee, chaired by Professor Lorne Crerar (of Scotland), made the one-week reduction after concluding Dupuy "had demonstrated that the original decision been in error only in a limited technical manner". An ERC statement also confirmed that Dupuy's actions had been "at the top end in the level of seriousness".

Dupuy, 26, will now be eligible to start playing again on May 27, meaning he will miss the rest of the Top 14 season as well the forthcoming Six Nations championship.

Attoub's original hearing was delayed after questions were raised over the authenticity of an incriminating photograph allegedly capturing the incident. The ERC heard further evidence on the matter on last Wednesday before finding him guilty of the offence on Friday. "If it turns out to be an anti-sporting offence the punishment will be announced at a later date," confirmed an ERC statement last week.