London Welsh brand deduction appeal decision unfair

LONDON Welsh are facing a monumental battle to avoid relegation from the Aviva Premiership after losing their appeal against a five-point deduction and a £15,000 fine.

The decision by an independent three-man panel confirmed London Welsh as being five points adrift of Sale Sharks at the bottom of the table, with four matches left. The club were punished for fielding an ineligible player – the New Zealand-born scrum-half Tyson Keats – in ten Premiership games this season.

London Welsh have Bath, Northampton, London Irish and Worcester to play and with relegation looming, the club argued their players have been unfairly punished for the “unnecessary fraudulent actions of one individual”.

Mike Scott, the club’s former team manager, made a mistake when he applied for Keats’ ancestry visa and instead of re-submitting the forms he attempted to cover it up. Scott told the club that a visa had been granted.

Meanwhile, he submitted false documents to the Rugby Football Union, including a forged passport, in a bid to pass Keats off as having been born in England.

London Welsh were also hit with a suspended five-point penalty in the original disciplinary hearing but that was overturned on appeal.