AT an appeal hearing in Scotland this Wednesday, Alan Quinlan’s efforts to overturn, or at least seek a reduction in the punishment dished out by the disciplinary committee, were all in vain as an independent Appeal Committee dismissed the appeal brought by Munster, Ireland and Lion back rower, against the decision of an independent Disciplinary Committee to ban the player for 12 weeks.
The independent Appeal Committee, chaired by Professor Lorne Crerar (Scotland) and also comprising Rod McKenzie (Scotland) and HHJ Jeff Blackett (England), found that Alan Quinlan had not demonstrated that the original decision had been in error, or that it should be overturned or varied, and accordingly the Appeal Committee dismissed the appeal and upheld the suspension imposed on the player of twelve (12) weeks.
The appeal was against the decision of the original independent Disciplinary Committee (Wednesday, 13 May, 2009) which found Mr Quinlan guilty of an act contrary to good sportsmanship in contravention of Law 10.4 (k) in that he made contact with the eye area of Leo Cullen (Leinster) during the Heineken Cup semi-final match against Leinster at Croke Park, Dublin, on Saturday, 2 May, 2009.
The 12 week suspension is for 12 playing weeks. The off-season is not included in the period of ineligibility and he will be eligible to resume playing on 10 September, 2009.
Leicester and England flanker Tom Croft was announced by British & Irish Lions Tour Manager Gerald Davies as the replacement for the suspended Alan Quinlan. The decision to replace the Munster and Ireland flanker was forced on the Lions following an ERC judiciary hearing on Wednesday May 13 and a subsequent appeal on May 20.
Davies stated, “Alan Quinlan’s suspension is naturally disappointing and he must be devastated by the outcome of the hearing and appeal. That said the Lions management fully accepts the decisions of the ERC judicial process. The outcome necessitated the selection of a new player and Ian McGeechan and his fellow selectors had no hesitation in selecting Leicester’s Tom Croft.”
Commenting on the replacement for the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa, McGeechan said, “We had to be fair and allow Alan Quinlan the opportunity to appeal his suspension. However, following the outcome of the appeal we have replaced Quinlan with Tom Croft who, it must be said, was very unlucky not to have been selected in the original tour party.
“Tom showed in his recent performances for Leicester following the tour party announcement that he could put aside his disappointment and perform at a very high level. He was on our selection reserve list and today his continued good form has been rewarded with selection to the Lions squad for the tour of South Africa,” added McGeechan.
