Quinlan suspension appeal could end in longer ban

SUSPENDED Munster flanker Alan Quinlan will know his fate on Wednesday after the appeal against his six-week ban imposed by the European Rugby Cup Ltd is heard in Dublin.

He was found guilty of stamping on a Cardiff Blues player nearing the end of the Heineken Cup Pool Four game on December 16.

An independent Appeal Committee chaired by Rod McKenzie (Scotland) has been appointed to hear the matter.

He will be joined on the committee by Matthew Lohn (England) and Robert Horner (England).

Quinlan’s suspension arose from a citing lodged by the Citing Commissioner for the match, Alan Mansell (England). The case against the Munster back row man was for an alleged stamping in contravention of Law 10.4 (b).

The case against Quinlan was heard on Wednesday, December 20, by an independent Disciplinary Committee comprising Christopher Quinlan (England), Bruce Reece-Russell (England) and Iain Goodall (Scotland).

The player admitted the offence and the committee upheld the citing complaint before imposing the six-week suspension, which is due to run till January 30.

After due deliberation, Munster decided to appeal the decision on the grounds of severity of sentence and remain hopeful that it will be reduced to four weeks.

However, there is a possibility of the ban being increased, so these are exceptionally worrying days for the Tipperaryman at a crucial stage of the season.