Peter Duncan, the chairman of selectors and senior counsel, will represent Chan Fuk-ping at a hearing next Monday to appeal against his 20-week ban for kicking Hong Kong teammate Andy Yuen Kin-ho in a league match a fortnight ago.
'Peter Duncan has kindly agreed to assist us in our appeal and we welcome his offer of help. We are now in the process of drafting the filing of the notice of appeal,' said James Wood, a solicitor who plays alongside Chan for DeA Tigers in the First Division.
As chairman of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union in the late '80s, Duncan was instrumental in starting the development programme and Chan was one of the first products of that scheme.
Chan was last week slapped with a stringent 20-week ban by the HKRFU's disciplinary committee headed by Richard Turnbull. The length of the ban was met with incredulity from all quarters.
While DeA Tigers immediately vowed to fight the ban, both Hong Kong head coach Ivan Torpey and HKRFU executive director Allan Payne said they were 'shocked'' by the severity of the ban.
The HKRFU confirmed yesterday that a three-member appeals panel (made up of a legal representative, a Union vice-president and a chairman or secretary of a club) had been appointed. The panel will comprise Derek Finch, a criminal lawyer, Peter Else (vice-president) and Mark O'Byrne (vice-chairman of HKCC/Aberdeen).