Bloodgate her cutting of Williams's lip to hide his use of the blood capsule.. On 2 September 2009, it was reported that Harlequins had escaped being thrown out of the Heineken Cup following the scandal when the board of organisers European Rugby Cup (ERC) said it approved of the bans and fines already handed out. The affair was dubbed by many in the media "Bloodgate". Leinster won the game 6–5, going on to win the Heineken Cup for the first time. Mark Evans, chief executive of Harlequin FC has said: Richards resigned from his post at Harlequins over an incident in
Harlequin F.C. top of their pool, including beating Stade Français both at home (thanks to a dramatic last play drop goal from Nick Evans) and away in front of 80000 people in the Stade de France in Paris. They lost 5–6 at the Stoop to eventual tournament winners Leinster Rugby at the quarter final stage, a match in which the infamous Bloodgate Scandal took place. The contrast between this season and the previous season could hardly have been greater. With the shadow of Bloodgate still hanging over the club, the club struggled to an 8th-place finish despite retaining most of the players