ENGLISH RUGBY

The Fake Blood Fiasco

Violation: A rugby player for the English club Harlequins, Tom Williams, used a blood capsule, bought in a joke shop, to fake an injury late in a European quarterfinal in 2009. Rugby allows an extra substitution when a player is bleeding; the team wanted to get a specialist kicker on the field. It came out later that Harlequins had faked blood injuries on other occasions as well.

Punishment: Williams was suspended for a year, but that was reduced to four months after it was shown that there was a wider conspiracy. The director of rugby was suspended for three years and a physiotherapist for two, the chairman resigned and the club was fined 260,000 pounds.