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A hospital consultant at the centre of rugby's "Bloodgate scandal" was facing questions about her conduct today as details of how she helped a player fake injury were published.
A European Rugby Cup appeal panel describes how Wendy Chapman, an A&E consultant at Maidstone Hospital, cut the lip of Harlequins player Tom Williams to cover up the fact he had left the pitch with a non-existent wound.
It also describes how, in "a panicked response", she told officials Williams had a wobbly tooth even though the player said he had no such problem.
The ruling will increase pressure on the General Medical Council to investigate the actions of Ms Chapman, who was employed by Harlequins as a match day doctor for blood injuries.
The GMC has declined to say whether it is intending to hold a "fitness to practise" hearing into the case.
The fake injury occurred in a Heineken Cup match between Harlequins and Irish side Leinster.
Winger Williams used a blood capsule to pretend he had been cut so he could be replaced by a specialist kicker.
The cheating was spotted by officials from Leinster leading to chaotic scenes in the Harlequins physio room.
Today's ruling, quoting Williams, says that amid "a real sense of panic", Ms Chapman became "increasingly anxious" and suggested the player had a loose tooth.
Williams's evidence states: "As far as I am aware, my tooth was not wobbly and I understood her comments to be a panicked response to the presence of other people in the room."
Ms Chapman was asked by Williams to cut his lip. Although Williams says the doctor was "not happy" about the proposal, she accepted, using a scalpel to make the cut.
Williams, who received a four-month suspension, said Ms Chapman was "as much a victim in these matters as me" and had only acted as she did "in the heat of the moment".
The judgment also says former Harlequins director of rugby Dean Richards had "central control" of the cheating.
A spokeswoman for the GMC declined to say whether any investigation was planned or had begun.
Reader views (1)
There is a criminal case R v Brown that points out that a victim can not consent to sustain injury in this way. OF course plastic surgeons, on their own admission, are constantly carrying out operations they can not justify on medical terms and are also therefore possibly criminally liable.
- Jack Spratt, Richmond, Surrey, 03/09/2009 11:15
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