Quins man’s 12-month ban ‘entirely disproportionate’
PLAYERS’ chief Damian Hopley has leapt to the defence of Harlequins winger Tom Williams, after he was handed a 12-month ban for faking a blood injury.
Williams was found to have fabricated a cut to his mouth in order to allow Quins to make a late substitution during their Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat to Leinster in April.
The sanction, delivered on Monday, came just weeks after South Africa’s Schalk Burger escaped with an eight-match suspension for eye-gouging British and Irish Lions winger Luke Fitzgerald.
Former Bath lock Justin Harrison, meanwhile, was this week banned for eight months after admitting taking a banned substance and then avoiding a drug test.
And with those cases in mind, Professional Rugby Players’ Association chief executive Hopley admits he is at a loss to understand the punishment dished out to Williams.
“In recent weeks we have seen players found guilty of eye-gouging receiving bans of between eight and 12 weeks, and another player found guilty of misconduct receive an eight-month ban,” said Hopley.
“For Tom Williams to be singled out and handed a 12-month ban is both excessive and entirely disproportionate. It is an extraordinary decision.”
Quins were also fined £215,000 over the incident, with half of the fine suspended for two years.