London Welsh to appeal points deduction and fine (From Oxford Mail)

London Welsh to appeal points deduction and fine

9:09pm Thursday 7th March 2013 in Rugby By Mark Edwards, Sports Editor. Call me on 01865 425451

London Welsh will appeal against the five point deduction and £15,000 fine they were tonight handed after being found guilty of fielding an ineligible player - scrum half Tyson Keats.

In a statement, the club said that they were "hugely disappointed and shocked by the ruling".

The statement read: London Welsh RFC are extremely disappointed with the decision to deduct the club ten league points, five of them suspended until the end of season 2013-14, and to fine it £15,000, in regard to the charge that the club fielded an ineligible player, Tyson Keats, in the Aviva Premiership this season.

The club was unknowingly the victim of one individual’s fraudulent conduct and it was London Welsh which discovered the fraud and brought it to the attention of the RFU. The Panel however has punished London Welsh on the basis that it is to blame for what that individual has done.

“London Welsh are hugely disappointed and shocked by the ruling made by the RFU Hearings Committee, which we believe is extremely harsh under the circumstances,” said London Welsh CEO Tony Copsey.

“It is our belief the ruling is fundamentally flawed and I can confirm that the club will definitely be appealing the decision.”

The club's former Rugby Manager Mike Scott remains the subject of a separate RFU Disciplinary Hearing relating to the registration of the same player and has been charged under RFU Rule 5.12 for 'conduct prejudicial to the interests of the Union or the Game'.

The decision leaves London Welsh two points adrift at the foot of the Aviva Premiership table.

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