Rugby:Stade Francais scrumhalf Julien Dupuy had his 24-week ban reduced by a token one week after today's ERC Independent Appeal Committee sitting at Heathrow.
Dupuy was found guilty of gouging Ulster’s Stephen Ferris during their Heineken Cup Pool 4 match at Ravenhill in December.
The independent Appeal Committee, chaired by Professor Lorne Crerar (Scotland) and also comprising Rod McKenzie (Scotland) and Pat Barriscale (Ireland), found that Dupuy had demonstrated that the original decision had been in error only in a limited and technical manner, by taking into account the need for deterrence when determining entry point rather than as an aggravating factor.
It means Dupuy is ruled out for the entire Six Nations campaign and will be free to play again on May 27th, 2010.