Byrne banned for England game
Ospreys and Wales full-back Lee Byrne banned for England game over 16th man scandal
Friday, 29, Jan 2010 04:53
By Alistair Potter.
Full-back Lee Byrne will miss Wales' opening game of the Six Nations against England at Twickenham after being handed a two-week ban over Ospreys '16th man' fiasco against Leicester in the Heineken Cup.
The region have escaped being thrown out of the tournament for their indiscretion, which saw Byrne come on without the referee's permission in the 17-12 victory over the Tigers last weekend.
Nevertheless, Ospreys will be forced to pay a 25,000 euro (£21,700) fine with Byrne missing out on arguably Wales' biggest fixture in the northern hemisphere tournament.
In a statement, Heineken Cup organisers European Rugby Cup (ERC) said that while Byrne and the Welsh club's actions represented a breach of the rules it was not "deliberate or premeditated".
Leicester had lobbied for a more severe punishment after viewing video footage of the match, which they claim showed Byrne making at least two tackles after returning to the pitch as a 16th player.
But a significant portion of the blame has been placed with Byrne, who did not check with the officials before re-entering the field of play.
Both the player and Ospreys have the right to appeal the decision, which allows the 29-year-old to return to action on Saturday February 13th - the day of Wales' second Six Nations game at home to Scotland.