 Ospreys full-back Lee Byrne's blood-bin began the 16-man confusion
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Lee Byrne is considering appealing the length of his two-week ban imposed for his part in the Ospreys' 16-man Heineken Cup fiasco against Leicester.
The British and Irish Lions full-back is set to miss Wales' Six Nations opener with England due to the ban.
He was suspended by an independent disciplinary panel while the Ospreys were fined £21,666 (25,000 Euros).
Byrne, though, is definitely available for Wales' second Six Nations game with Scotland in Cardiff on 13 February.
The 29-year-old, who was the Ospreys' extra man in their pivotal 17-12 Heineken Cup Pool Three win last Saturday, and the Ospreys both pleaded guilty to the misconduct complaints at an independent disciplinary committee in Dublin.
The Welsh Rugby Union released a statement to say that Byrne is "reviewing the decision" to ban him from playing for two weeks.
So Wales coach Warren Gatland has delayed the announcement of his team to face England in their Six Nations opener on 6 February until Byrne has decided whether he is to appeal.
Byrne must make his decision about appealing on Monday so Gatland, who was due to name his team on Sunday, will now not name his side until at least Monday.
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Byrne will remain with the Wales squad at their Vale of Glamorgan base as he "is taking advice on a possible appeal."
The Ospreys star missed Wales' autumn Tests due to a foot injury when his regional team-mate James Hook deputised for him at full-back.
So the versatile 24-year-old is favourite to start at full-back at Twickenham on Saturday week although he did pick up a knock to his shoulder in the now infamous Heineken Cup Pool Three win over Leicester.
Byrne had gone off in the second-half of the Heineken Cup Pool Three clash suffering from a dislocated and bloodied toe and was replaced by centre Sonny Parker.
But Byrne sent back on in the Liberty Stadium three minutes later after treatment without any of his team-mates going off.
A Tigers player pointed out the Ospreys' numerical advantage to referee Alan Lewis, who then berated an Ospreys touchline official for not informing the match fourth official that Byrne had returned.
The official also did not award Leicester the penalty they should have had for Ospreys temporarily fielding an extra player.
Fly-half Dan Biggar eventually departed as the Ospreys returned to 15 men to hold on during a torrid finale of constant Leicester pressure.
Leicester claimed Byrne was involved in halting a break by scrum-half Ben Youngs as Tigers looked to claw back a 17-12 deficit.
The triumph ensured the Ospreys qualification for the Heineken Cup quarter-final while the defeat knocked Leicester out.
In a statement, ERC said: "Ospreys and Mr Byrne pleaded guilty to the misconduct complaints.
"During the hearing, the independent disciplinary committee heard submissions from representatives of ERC and Ospreys and from a number of witnesses, and considered statements from various individuals and video evidence from the match.
"The committee also heard submissions from representatives of Leicester Tigers.
"The independent Disciplinary Committee found that Mr Byrne had re-entered the pitch without the referee's permission and that he knew, or ought to have known, that he needed that permission.
"The committee found that this represented a clear breach of the substitution protocol, which forms part of the Heineken Cup 2009/10 tournament rules, and that the club could have done more to ensure that such a breach did not occur."
Byrne is one of Wales' key players and was badly missed by coach Warren Gatland in the autumn as they slumped to defeats to New Zealand and Australia.
Leicester Tigers chairman Leicester Tigers chairman Peter Tom said: "It was important that events surrounding this incident were investigated to help prevent this situation happening again, especially in such a high-profile fixture in Europe's elite club competition.
"We will await receipt of the full written verdict before making any further comment."
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