Blood & Mud

70 WEEKS! Now that is what we call a ban.

David Attoub, Stade Francais prop and second defendant in the FerrisEye case, had been banned for 70 (seventy) weeks for his part in the rudimentary optic surgery on Stephen Ferris.  This will keep him out of rugby until the end of the 2010-11 season.

Jeff Blackett, the judicial officer in charge, also said Attoub was "less than truthful" in his explanation in testimony - which is lawyer speak for "lying through his teeth".

Given the photo above, anything less that this ban would have been a disgrace.  Stade have already said they will appeal this "un-French" judgement, so if I was Ferris I would now take criminal proceedings against Attoub That would fall within and have the due procedure of British law, something Stade could not bleat about being "the decision of a private body based in Ireland".

The testimony of Stephen Ferris himself makes pretty stark and terrifying reading.

"the contact was very strong and extremely painful - the finger in my right eye was forced downward in a poking and gouging motion; it was someone trying to drive a finger as hard as he could into my eye socket and I could not prevent it"

Anyone who has played the game has had stuff sone to them while helpless at the bottom of a ruck - I can remember having my nuts squeezed for the best part of 10 seconds once - but gouging is the worst of the worst, and seeing it written down like that sends a bit of a shiver down the spine. 

This ban is all David Attoub deserves.

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70 WEEKS! Now that is what we call a ban.

David Attoub, Stade Francais prop and second defendant in the FerrisEye case, had been banned for 70 (seventy) weeks for his part in the rudimentary optic surgery on Stephen Ferris.  This will keep him out of rugby until the end of the 2010-11 season.

Jeff Blackett, the judicial officer in charge, also said Attoub was "less than truthful" in his explanation in testimony - which is lawyer speak for "lying through his teeth".

Given the photo above, anything less that this ban would have been a disgrace.  Stade have already said they will appeal this "un-French" judgement, so if I was Ferris I would now take criminal proceedings against Attoub That would fall within and have the due procedure of British law, something Stade could not bleat about being "the decision of a private body based in Ireland".

The testimony of Stephen Ferris himself makes pretty stark and terrifying reading.

"the contact was very strong and extremely painful - the finger in my right eye was forced downward in a poking and gouging motion; it was someone trying to drive a finger as hard as he could into my eye socket and I could not prevent it"

Anyone who has played the game has had stuff sone to them while helpless at the bottom of a ruck - I can remember having my nuts squeezed for the best part of 10 seconds once - but gouging is the worst of the worst, and seeing it written down like that sends a bit of a shiver down the spine. 

This ban is all David Attoub deserves.