Armitage appeals against suspension

Toulon's Delon Armitage has appealed against the 12-week suspension he was recently handed for directing abusive language at Leicester Tigers fans.

Armitage was banned for 12 weeks by an independent disciplinary committee following the incident on 7th December after a European Champions Cup game at Welford Road.

He was found guilty of misconduct but an appeal will now be held in London on 8th January by an independent appeal committee comprising Lorne Crerar (Scotland), Rod McKenzie (Scotland) and Simon Thomas (Wales).

Armitage's disciplinary record was taken into account when the committee made their judgment on 21st December.

"We considered the player's previous record and concluded that he is an habitual offender against the laws of the game, and one for whom there needs to be a deterrent to combat a clear pattern of offending, both on and off the field," read the judgement.

"The player is without doubt an exceptionally talented individual, but he has an appalling disciplinary record, both on and off the field."

However, Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal has warned that Toulon could take legal action against the Leicester supporters whose testimony led to Armitage being banned.

"It's incomprehensible," he told newspaper La Provence.

"This is an extraordinary decision which rests only on the allegations of two opposition supporters, whose objectivity we can legitimately put in doubt.

"But there is no formal proof, no official document, not even television pictures to attest to the veracity of these testimonies.

"We aren't discounting the eventuality of going after these two supporters in court for false testimonies."

As this was Armitage's second post-match misconduct case in the last four years, four weeks were added to an eight-week ban sanctioned by the committee.

Subject to his appeal, he will be out of action until 8th March 2015.