Perpignan could quit cup over Tincu ban

Perpignan are threatening to pull out of the Heineken Cup if their appeal against hooker Marius Tincu’s 18-week suspension for eye-gouging falls on deaf ears.

The Romania international given the heavy sanction yesterday after the ERC’s disciplinary commission found him guilty of “making contact with the eye/eye area” of Ospreys prop Paul James during a Heineken Cup Pool Three match on October 18.