Stade Francais to appeal massive 70-week Attoub suspension

STADE FRANCAIS are set to appeal the massive 70-week ban handed down to prop David Attoub after he was found guilty of gouging Ulster and Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris during a Heineken Cup match in December.

Jeff Blackett, who presided over the ERC hearing said in his judgement that Attoub’s actions “was the worst act of contact with the eyes that I have had to deal with.”

It is believed Attoub’s disciplinary record was also a mitigating factor in the timing of the ban, the Frenchman having being suspended three times previously, including one occasion for a similar offence in the 2004/05 season.