Delon Armitage has succeeded in having his suspension reduced for directing abusive language at Leicester supporters last month but the Toulon full-back will still be unable to play until the second half of February.
Armitage was banned for 12 weeks when he appeared before an independent disciplinary panel last month, having been charged with misconduct after Toulon’s European Champions Cup defeat at Welford Road.
He had pleaded not guilty to the charge but his appeal was based on the length of his ban rather than the verdict. His legal team argued during the five-hour hearing in London this week that the original three-man panel had been wrong under the regulations to put the starting point for Armitage’s ban at eight weeks – he was given an extra four because of his poor disciplinary record.
The three men who heard the appeal on Thursday took nearly 24 hours to consider Toulon’s contention before ruling that the entry point was too high and reducing Armitage’s suspension by four weeks.
“The appeal committee found that the independent disciplinary committee had made an error in how they determined the period of the appropriate sanction for the misconduct and moved to impose a suspension of eight weeks on the player,” said the tournament organisers, European Professional Club Rugby, in a statement.
The 31-year-old Armitage attended the appeal hearing, accompanied by two legal representatives, one of them a QC. He had been warned about his future conduct by the original panel, who described the former London Irish player as a habitual offender against the laws of the game who merited a ban that would have a deterrent effect.
Armitage has served three weeks of his ban, which will take in Toulon’s final two Champions Cup group matches, against Ulster and the Scarlets, and two more Top 14 rounds. He will be available for Toulon’s trip to Bordeaux-Bègles on 20 February.
