Montpellier Misconduct Complaint Hearing Decision

The misconduct complaint was that the club, by omitting a number of its international and other players from its Amlin Challenge Cup squad for the 2010/11 season, failed to nominate its strongest possible squad as required by the Tournament Rules.

The independent Disciplinary Committee was made up of Pat Barriscale (Ireland, Chairman), Jean-Noël Couraud (France) and Antony Davis (England).

Montpellier, who pleaded guilty to the misconduct complaint, were represented at the hearing by club President, Jean-Pierre Massines and Gérard Cazottes.

After hearing the evidence and considering submissions on behalf of Montpellier, and on behalf of Roger O'Connor, ERC's Disciplinary Officer, the independent Disciplinary Committee found that Montpellier were guilty of misconduct in that the club had failed to nominate its strongest possible squad as required by the 2010/11 Amlin Challenge Cup Tournament Rules, and imposed a fine of €5,000.

The Committee accepted that the club had demonstrated a desire to compete in the Amlin Challenge Cup, but it considered that the omission from the squad of international players such as Francois Trinh-Duc, Fulgence Ouedraogo and Julien Tomas, represented a clear breach of the Tournament Rules.

Notes
a) The Independent Disciplinary Committees are chosen by the Chairman of the independent Disciplinary Panel, Professor Lorne Crerar
b) For the first time, a three-person Independent Disciplinary Committee included one representative of the country of the party against whom the charge had been made
c) ERC Disciplinary Officer, Roger O'Connor, presents the cases against the club / individual
d) Both parties to the hearing (ERC and the club / individual) have the right to appeal decisions of the Independent Disciplinary Committee. Appeals must be lodged within three working days of receiving the full written decision from the Chairman of the Independent Disciplinary Committee
e) The full written decision of the Independent Disciplinary Committee will be available on http://www.ercrugby.com/disciplinenews when the disciplinary process is complete.