Llanelli yesterday reacted with anger and disbelief to the £20,000 fine, half of it suspended, handed out by the European Rugby Cup directors after a lengthy meeting in Dublin. The Welsh club will lodge a vigorous appeal against the fine which has also been imposed on Pau, their French hosts, for their respective roles in a violent European Cup match on September 13th.

Stuart Gallacher, the Llanelli chief executive, said he was "appalled" by the ERC decision which can only deepen the cash crisis that has overshadowed Stradey Park for the past year. This latest punishment which ranks as Draconian in rugby union terms, follows the swingeing £30,000 fines dished out last week to Pontypridd and Brive for their part in a violent game on September 14th.

The Scarlets will consult legal council to ensure that their appeal is solidly based and they receive a fair hearing.

"We are not accepting it - it's as simple as that," said Gallacher. "I cannot believe we have been punished in the same way as Pau. £10,000 is a lot of find but the issue is not just the financial one." The suspended half of the fine will only have to be paid if either club becomes involved in further violent incidents before the tournament ends on January 31st. But Llanelli, who have a jealously guarded reputation for good sportsmanship, believe they were more sinned against than sinning at Pau: their players were particularly incensed by the actions of the scrum half Frederic Torossian, who head-butted Neil Boobyer and Frano Botica.

"We hear that Pau have taken disciplinary action against Torossian but what does that mean?" asked Gallacher, who went on to point out that other erring players such as Cardiff's Tony Rees, who was banned for 90 days for stamping, were charged and punished by the ERC board. If Torossian, who played again on Sunday, has escaped with a club fine - the sanction normally favoured by self-disciplining clubs - there is no effective way of ensuring that it will be paid.

In Llanelli's case, ERC appeared to have followed a disciplinary principle of guilt by association, which implies that mere participation in a violent game will incur the same penalty as instigating violence.

"It was absolute thuggery what Torossian did out there," said Gareth Jenkins, the Llanelli coach, who listed a total of five violent acts carried out by the scrum half against his players.

The Scarlets, who currently lie second in Pool E behind Pau, spent most of yesterday trying to clarify the procedure for their appeal which they want to be heard by ERC before the 21-day deadline for payment of the fine runs out.

On Saturday Llanelli visit Treviso and seven days later they play host to Caledonia: one win from those games would be sufficient to see them into the quarter-final play-offs. Pau looks set to reach the quarter-finals automatically.

Last weekend there were clear signs that the ERC's get tough policy had produced an immediate improvement in individual and collective discipline. The return fixtures involving Pontypridd, Brive, Llanelli and Pau passed off without violent incident, while elsewhere the players appear to have got the message that their clubs may pay a heavy price for further indiscretions.

Philippe Carbonneau, at the centre of the battle of Brive with Welsh side Pontypridd, will be overlooked when the French selectors name their squad for next month's Latin Cup matches against Argentina, Italy and Romania. "All the players were warned about discipline. We will be unbending in our attitude to behaviour - on or off the pitch," French team manager Jo Maso said yesterday.

Scrum-half Carbonneau had his nose broken in a bar-room brawl with Welsh players after their European Cup match three weeks ago, although the Welsh claimed the Frenchman started everything by head butting during the match.