London Welsh have failed their appeal against the five-point deduction and £15,000 fine they received for fielding an eligible player.
They were found guilty earlier this month of fielding New Zealand born scrum-half Tyson Keats in 10 Aviva Premiership games and given a ten points deduction (five suspended until next season) as well as the fine.
The Exiles decided to appeal against the decision and were heard on Friday in London but after three days of deliberation, the Independent Panel came to the decision that the sanction would stand, although the suspended point deduction has been removed.
This now leaves the club favourites for the relegation being five points adrift at the bottom of the table with 18 points and Sale 23 and only four games to go.
The £15,000 fine has to be paid within 21 days from today and a RFU statement read that “the decision was final and binding.”
Chairman of the Independent Appeal Panel Gareth Rees QC, said: “The independent Appeal Panel accepts that the circumstances of this case are quite exceptional.
“However, we have to mark this serious breach with a points deduction and, although we have allowed the appeal in respect of the five points which were suspended, we must acknowledge the impact on the integrity of the game and deduct five Premiership points with immediate effect.”
In a statement, London Welsh said they were “very dissapointed” by the Independent Panel's decision and while they will accept the sanctions they also pointed out that they were the victim of the “completely unnecessary fraudulent actions of one individual”, former Team Manager Mike Scott, who has been banned for life for his role in the matter.
“The club is hugely disappointed by the decision of the Independent Appeal Panel to uphold the five-point deduction for this season,” said London Welsh CEO Tony Copsey.
“We are particularly disappointed for the players, who've given everything they can for the club, and ultimately it is they who have been punished for something completely beyond their control.
“However, there are still four games remaining in the season and the focus and efforts of the players, the coaching staff and everyone at London Welsh is now on those remaining matches.”
A bizarre decision in the circumstances. Why remove the suspended 5 points which was there to make sure no future registration offences occurred (unlikely, anyway, given the salutary lesson this mess-up has caused) and yet not recognise that the club was deceived repeatedly by an experienced rugby professional administrator, such that the current season 5 points deduction was unfair? Does the RFU itself accept no blame in this business – was it so hard not to pick up a phone and tell a London Welsh director that something seemed seriously amiss with Tyson Keats’ registration? Had alarm bells been rung three months sooner, the Scott fakeries would have been stopped sooner.