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Tom Williams has been made a "scapegoat" for faking a blood injury says Alan Gaffney, whose Leinster side were the victims of the controversy in the Heineken Cup clash.
The Harlequins full-back was banned for a year from all rugby by tournament chiefs this week after they ruled he had not cut his mouth during the quarter-final. Williams's 'injury' had allowed him to be replaced by fly-half Nick Evans, who then missed a late drop-goal to win the match.
The incident in April sparked an official complaint from furious Leinster, leading to Williams's suspension and a £215,000 fine for Quins - though the London club are set to appeal against both punishments.
Although the fine implies collective guilt, Williams is the only individual to be punished and Gaffney, who is part of the Leinster coaching team, has joined the Professional Rugby Players' Association in criticising the ban.
Gaffney, who was in the stands at The Twickenham Stoop, said: "What has amazed me is that Tom Williams is the only person who has been penalised and it appears he has been made the scapegoat in all of this. That is quite amazing, although I haven't seen the details of the decision that the disciplinary committee made.
"At the time, there was a feeling among the Leinster staff that what happened wasn't kosher."
To stop a repeat of this incident, Gaffney would support the use of independent medical experts on the touchline to determine if a player really is cut.
The former Saracens director of rugby said: "There is always suspicion in certain areas and now that ERC have taken this action, the image of the game could be affected. I wouldn't be against an independent doctor being involved on the touchline for big games to adjudicate on medical matters because this is a grey area and we need to be squeaky clean for sake of the sport.
"There is a belief that the kind of incident involving Quins won't be the last and that is why we have to look at every possible area."
Gaffney also believes some teams under pressure have been claiming their props are injured, so that scrums then become uncontested.
He said: "Results are everything in professional rugby and while you cannot excuse some of the things that happen, it is obvious that the majority of teams push things to the very limit."
Williams received strong support from the PRA, who branded the ban as "excessive, extraordinary and entirely disproportionate".
