"The conflict shows the game is evolving, " said Derek McGrath, the ERC chief executive.
The ERC rejected Sheahan's assertion that the failed drugs test had merely been "an administrative oversight".
Discontent over the division of revenue has also frustrated attempts to reach agreement on a new ERC Accord.
Roughly 85% of the Heineken Cup's profits are distributed to the national unions, which are shareholders in the ERC.
ERC's legal form, on a date yet unspecified, rests with the European Parliament and member states in the European Council.
But local observers point to the large number of undecided voters still swithering between CiU and the left-wing independentistes ERC.
The elections saw Convergence lose ground to the left-wing ERC party, which also supports independence but opposes Mr Mas's spending cuts.
He will now have to face opposition to independence from Madrid and to his economic policies from the ERC at home.
The ERC could hit the Premiership club with a 5, 000 Euro fine.
BBC: Saracens sorry for Borthwick's Heineken Cup launch snub
ERC's scientific strategy (Dr Nowotny is one of them) met for the first time to start hammering out a charter and constitution.
"ERC has sent out a strong message that there is no room for this kind of behaviour in rugby, " said an RFU statement.
Whereas both CiU and ERC are split over economic ideology, both agree that Catalonia gets a poor funding deal from the Spanish central government.
Cockbain pleaded guilty before an ERC disciplinary panel in Dublin after being cited for a stamp in the Ospreys' recent Heineken Cup win over Sale.
The visitors may be ranked 15 places above Ulster in the official ERC rankings, fifth against 20th, but this match made a mockery of those positions.
The event's organisers, European Rugby Cup (ERC), handed out heavy bans to those concerned, with Brennan suspended for two years and Williams banned for four months.
High King Laoghaire and his attendants (including Erc, who later was baptised as a Christian and would become the first bishop of Slane shortly thereafter) went to confront the interloper.
At the heart of the issues is the distribution of money from ERC and the structure of the tournament, which some feel favors clubs from Wales, Ireland and Scotland.
Richards and Brennan had been cleared by a disciplinary committee last month but received their punishments on Monday after ERC's own disciplinary officer, Roger O'Connor, contested the original decision.
Richards, Brennan and Williams do not have the right of appeal against the punishments with the ERC but they can take their cases to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Television footage - which formed part of the evidence looked at by the ERC panel, along with statements from several witnesses - appeared to show Williams winking as he left the pitch.
"It was the view of the committee that this was a very serious offence and one that damaged the reputation of the tournament and of rugby union, " said a statement from ERC.
The RFU is reluctant to hand over equal voting rights and shares in European Cup Rugby (ERC), which runs the Heineken Cup, whereas the French and Italian authorities have agreed to do so.
The current deal, known as the ERC Accord, is up for renewal in June, at which time any stakeholder wishing to leave the tournament must give two years' notice of their intention to do so.
But as the clock ticks down on the five-year agreement between ERC and the six national unions that participate in the Heineken Cup, there are those who believe the tournament could be making bigger financial gains.
Williams later had his lip cut in an attempt to make the injury appear genuine, but following an investigation by the European Rugby Cup (ERC), who oversee the Heineken Cup, the 26-year-old admitted what had happened.
"In keeping with our commitment to uphold the ERC bans, Steph is immediately suspended from his role as England team physio pending completion of the review process required under RFU employment policies, " added the RFU statement.
The weathered, silvery stone ruins scattered across the grassy, 158m-high Hill of Slane today include a foundational outline of a church, a round tower and a monastery associated with St Erc, and a later Norman motte and bailey on the hill's western side, built by Archembald Fleming, who came to Ireland with Henry II in 1171.
"Given the disclosure in yesterday's appeal hearing of further incidents of a similar nature in other competitions, we are awaiting the full documentation from ERC to enable us to review whether there is further action the RFU needs to take against the club, its current or former officials, on those other incidents, " the statement continued.
Switching games to larger venues, as Edinburgh and Leinster are doing this weekend, means teams qualify for an ERC incentive: Instead of splitting the net profit from ticket sales with the away club, the Irish province is entitled to a 65% of ticket revenue because of the increased capacity at the Aviva Stadium (52, 000) compared to its RDS Arena (18, 500).
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