PERPIGNAN // Perpignan are threatening to pull out of the Heineken Cup if their appeal against the hooker Marius Tincu's 18-week suspension for eye-gouging falls on deaf ears. The Romanian was slapped with the heavy sanction on Tuesday 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 Oct 18.
Perpignan claim there is insufficient evidence against Tincu and have labelled the punishment "grotesque". * PA Sport
