The Appeal Hearing was held in London on Tuesday, 2 March, 2010. Mr Attoub appealed against both the finding of foul play and level of sanction imposed by an independent Disciplinary hearing, arising from the Heineken Cup Pool 4 match against Ulster Rugby at Ravenhill, Belfast, on Saturday, 12 December, 2009.
The independent Disciplinary Hearing found that David Attoub was guilty of foul play in contravention of Law 10.4 (l) in that he made contact with the eye / eye area of Ulster Rugby player Stephen Ferris (No 6) and that the offence was at the top end in the level of seriousness. Having taken into account any mitigating and aggravating factors the independent Judicial Officer suspended the player for a period of 70 weeks running up to and including 22 April, 2011.
The Independent Appeal Committee, chaired by Professor Lorne Crerar (Scotland) and also comprising Rod McKenzie (Scotland) and Robert Williams (Wales) found that Mr Attoub had not demonstrated that the original decision had been in error and therefore dismissed the appeal.
A short form written decision of the Appeal Committee is attached as a word document and will be available on http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/5019_4862.php
Under the IRB Recommended Sanctions for Offences Committed within the Playing Enclosure, contact with the eyes / eye area carries the following penalties:
Lower End: 12 weeks
Middle Range: 18 weeks
Top End: 24 weeks+
Maximum Sanction: 156 weeks
For a full list of IRB Recommended Sanctions please refer to ercrugby.com by pressing the following link: http://www.ercrugby.com/images/content/cupstandard/IRB_Sanctions.pdf
Independent Appeal Committee
a) Following a decision of an independent Disciplinary Hearing, both the Club/player and ERC have the right to appeal the decision of the Judicial Officer.
b) The initial independent Disciplinary Hearings are determined by an independent Judicial Officer. Appeal Hearings are determined by a three man independent Appeal Committee.
c) The independent Appeal Committee is chosen by the Chairman of the independent Disciplinary Panel, Professor Lorne Crerar.
d) The independent Judicial Officer who issued the decision being challenged may not sit on the independent Appeal Committee.
e) The full written decision of the Appeal Hearing will be made available on ercrugby.com/disciplinenews at a later date when the full written decisions for the Appeal hearing have been completed and issued to all parties.
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