Taione could get two-year ban for biting
The Tongan-born centre is charged with biting Munster forward Denis Leamy on the arm at a scrum late in the game.
Leamy immediately brought the matter to the attention of French referee Joel Jutge who took no action.
Munster manager Jerry Holland spoke to Mr Goodall after the final whistle and having accumulated the relevant evidence over the past 48 hours, the commissioner last night cited Taione under ERC’s Rule 10. 4 (K) which refers to “actions contrary to good sportsmanship.”
ERC Public Relations manager John Corcoran said that a three-man panel consisting of a leading rugby administrator, a legal expert and a former player (none from England, the Union to which Sale belong), would hear the case as soon as is practicable.
Mr Holland reacted by commenting that “unfortunately biting and gouging are becoming part of the game. They are despicable acts.”
“You could see the bite marks on his (Leamy’s) arm. Our player is in no doubt who bit him.”
Taione responded by claiming he “was trying to take off from the base of a scrum. He was holding me back. He said to the ref that I had bitten him and was pointing to his arm. As far as I’m concerned, I’m okay.”
If found guilty, Taione could face a two year-ban. In previous years, the onus was on the aggrieved team to cite an opponent but this season the responsibility switched to the match commissioner.
It’s Munster’s second time to be involved in this kind of situation following the Peter Clohessy-Ismaella Lassissi affair in 2002 which ended in near farce when it was announced that there was no proof the mark left on the Munsterman’s arm had been made by a human.
Meanwhile, the draw for the semi-final line-up will be made in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium at noon today while the actual dates for the quarter-final matches will also be announced.
It would be a mistake to believe that Munster’s achievement in reaching the quarter-finals for the eighth successive year means a windfall for the Branch. Instead, the coffers of the IRFU have benefited by over €2 million from Munster’s exploits but that hasn’t entitled them to a penny more than any other province. Not to get any advantage as a reward for their achievements rankles with Munster officials, who are faced with their “home” quarter-final with Perpignan going to Lansdowne Road.
This is not a directive of ERC; rather it is one handed down by the IRFU because of the certainty of considerably increased revenue. Had the game been played at Thomond Park, the gate money would have been shared 50/50 between the two teams after expenses. With Munster going to a stadium that holds 49,500, the ratio increases to 60-40 in favour of the home side but the money goes to the Union rather than Munster.
“We perfectly understand the reasons for moving the game to Lansdowne Road and it spares us an absolute nightmare where ticket allocation would have been concerned but it does anger us that we still gain no advantage by doing so,” said a Munster official last night.
The IRFU counter this argument by pointing out that they pick up the tab for all contracts and other costs involving the provincial teams. A combination of the ticket and prize money income for having two quarter-finalists in the Heineken Cup amounts to about €600,000. Gate receipts from the semi-finals and final go directly to ERC once expenses have been met.
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