Read more about Rugby Union.
ERC set to decide on Ospreys punishment
Rugby Union, 11:58, January 24, 2010 ,
The Ospreys are waiting to see what punishment they will receive after fielding 16 players against Leicester in the Heineken Cup.
Tigers chief executive Peter Wheeler and chairman Peter Tom lodged an official complaint to tournament organisers European Rugby Cup following their side's 17-12 defeat against the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea on Saturday.
It appears that Ospreys' Wales and Lions full-back Lee Byrne was replaced by centre Sonny Parker after suffering from a dislocated and bloodied toe. However he was sent back on three minutes later without any of his team-mates going off and was involved in helping to thwart an opposition attack.
Fly-half Dan Biggar then departed after about a minute as the Ospreys managed to hold on for the victory which takes them through to the quarter-final places from Pool Three along with Clermont Auvergne.
Wheeler and Tom both hit out afterwards and were also angered that referee Alan Lewis did not award Leicester a penalty once the extra-man situation became apparent.
Wheeler said: "This was a very serious incident with a 16th player interfering with a try-scoring event at a crucial part of the game.
"We have lodged a complaint with ERC because at a significant point of the game the Ospreys had 16 men on the pitch, and that 16th man interfered with, or was involved in, a break by (Tigers scrum-half) Ben Youngs and played a significant role in nothing developing from that.
"I don't know which regulation they (ERC) can deal with that under, but we know and other clubs know that if you play a player who is unregistered, you get docked points and strung up and all sorts of bad things happen.
"You are only allowed 15 players on the pitch, so by definition, the 16th is unregistered."
Tom added: "A serious error has been made and we have to face up to it.
"We don't want to be seen as whingers, but we should have had a penalty. We've had 12 years of professionalism now, and we have to ensure it doesn't happen again."
As the match result must stand under competition rules, it is likely that the Ospreys will be handed a fine by the ERC for their 16th man error.
England were hit with a £10,000 during the 2003 World Cup when wing Dan Luger featured as a 16th player for 34 seconds of their group-stage win against Samoa in Melbourne.