Top 14:
Banned
Tincu allowed to play in France; Roncero finally grounded
20 December
2008
In a
landmark ruling for French sport Perpignan’s Marius Tincu
has had his domestic 18-week ban overturned by the Comite
National Olympique et Sportif Francais (CNOSF).
The
Romanian hooker was originally handed the lengthy ban by the
European Rugby Cup (ERC) after being found guilty of eye
gouging in the Heineken Cup match against the Ospreys on
October 18.
Despite
a plea of innocence, and threats by Perpignan to pull out of
the competition, his appeal was subsequently dismissed and
the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) promptly extended it to
cover all Top 14 games as well.
The
Catalans final roll of the dice was a further appeal, this
time to the CNOSF, France’s top sporting body, on the
grounds that a ban in a European club competition should not
apply to domestic league games as well.
The
CNOSF ruled in Tincu’s favour and on Friday the LNR accepted
their ruling and allowed the hooker to resume playing duties
in the Top 14 with immediate effect.
An LNR
statement confirmed: “This decision marks the first step in
affirming the primacy of French law over all other
considerations within the framework of the course of the
disciplinary proceedings.”
It
remains to be seen what effect this has on other players who
pick up bans in European or international competitions, but
an obvious precedent has now been set.
In a separate disciplinary case Stade
Francais prop Rodrigo Roncero has finally been for 30
days, nearly two months after punching Toulouse’s Thierry
Dusautoir on October 25.
The
Argentine initially appealed the ban, which allowed him to
play for the Pumas in their November internationals, but the
LNR has now belatedly heard and dismissed that appeal,
meaning Roncero’s ban will start this weekend.
But with
Top 14 taking a two-week break after Saturday’s games the
timing has worked out yet again in Roncero’s favour.
Leicester Tigers scrum-half Harry
Ellis will also spend Christmas on the sidelines – and most
of January – after he was banned for six weeks by the ERC’s
disciplinary committee for a dangerous tackle on Perpignan’s
Dan Carter.
Ellis,
who admitted the offence, had been cited by match
commissioner Iain Goodall following last week’s Heineken Cup
clash – Carter’s long-awaited debut for the Top 14 side.
The
England scrum-half must now sit on the sidelines until
January 26th, missing four league games and the
Tigers’ final two Heineken Cup matches as well. He does have
the right of appeal but the ERC judged his offence to be at
“the top end of the level of seriousness for a dangerous
tackle”.
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