Warriors hit Horsman with ban
Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:36
Worcester Warriors have handed out their own formal punishment to Wales international prop Chris Horsman following allegations that the 31 year-old kicked out at an opponent during their match with Harlequins last Thursday.
Horsman has been cited for the incident and is now set to go before the Rugby Football Union in a disciplinary hearing on Thursday.
The allegation claims that the 14-time capped international deliberately kicked Quins prop forward Mike Ross in his clubs defeat at Sixways.
In an intelligent move, no doubt aimed at preventing a harsher punishment being handed out by the committee, the Warriors have hit the former Bath No. 3 with a club imposed two-week suspension and fined him £2,000.
In a statement released to the press, the Warriors said: "As a club, Worcester Warriors do not condone violent conduct, and as such, have imposed a suspension on the player for a period of two weeks and imposed a fine on the player of £2,000.
"As the proceedings are still to be determined by the RFU panel, the club, guided by legal advice, will not be making any further comment concerning the matter until the conclusion of the RFU proceedings."
The punishment for kicking a player during a match can range from two to fifty-two weeks but now, after the club themselves have already taken action, the three-man panel of Christopher Quinlan (chairman), John Doubleday and Paul Murphy, will no doubt have to consider whether or not the alleged action warrants a more severe punishment or not.
