Quinlan cited after incident
May 04 2009
Munster forward Alan Quinlan has been cited for allegedly making contact with the eye or eye area of Leinster captain Leo Cullen in Saturday's Heineken Cup semi-final.
The independent citing commissioner John Byett (England) decided Quinlan has a case to answer after television cameras appeared to catch him making contact with Cullen's right eye.
Quinlan , 34, has been called to appear before a European Rugby Cup disciplinary panel, which is to be appointed "as soon as is practicable".
If Quinlan is found guilty he faces a minimum suspension of twelve weeks, which would almost certainly rule him out of the British & Irish Lions plans for their assault on world champions South Africa.
The Lions are due to fly out on May 24 with the first tour match against a Highveld XV on May 30. The first Test in Durban is on June 20.
Quinlan was a surprise selection in the 37-man Lions squad and his absence would potentially open the way for Ryan Jones or Tom Croft, who was considered the most unfortunate player to miss out on selection.
The England flanker was man-of-the-match in Leicester's dramatic penalty shootout semi-final win over Cardiff Blues on Sunday.
Head Coach Ian McGeechan has already had to consider one enforced change to his squad after Quinlan's Munster team-mate Tomas O'Leary suffered a fractured ankle.
No replacement scrum-half has yet been named though it is understood the Lions management met in Cardiff yesterday to discuss their options.
They will no doubt have also debated the possibility of losing Quinlan, who was selected as much for his aggressive approach on the field as his impressive character off it.
Whether the contact was deliberate or not, the television pictures from Croke Park do not make for pleasant viewing, with eye-gouging one act rugby officials are determined to stamp out of the game.
Recent cases saw flanker Neil Best banned for 18 weeks, Seru Rabeni (14) while England hooker Dylan Hartley was sidelined for 26 weeks.
Cullen remonstrated with Quinlan immediately after the alleged incident during Leinster's shock 25-6 victory and Quinlan appeared to apologise in a conversation after the match.