Rugby Football Union's Bloodgate Deadline Looms for Quins

Harlequins will learn tomorrow what further punishment – if any – they are to suffer as a result of the Bloodgate scandal, its aftermath and possible attempts at a cover-up, or the roles played by any club officials.

The club have already been fined £258,000 and had their former director of rugby, Dean Richards, banned for three years by the Heineken Cup organisers, ERC. Now the matter has now been turned over to the Rugby Football Union's disciplinary officer, Jeff Blackett. Judge Blackett will decide whether to proceed further on four other admitted instances of blood faking or whether either the Quins chief executive, Mark Evans, or the former chairman, Charles Jillings, have cases to answer for offering payments to stop further revelations.

Blackett has set himself a deadline of 5pm Friday to decided on whether there has been conduct "prejudicial to the interests of the game or the union" that has not been dealt with by the ERC.

Evans and Jillings could face action if it is found that they made attempts to prevent the wing Tom Williams revealing the scale of the cover-up at The Stoop orchestrated by Richards. Jillings, in his resignation notice, accepted that offers were made to the player but denied these were inducements to buy his silence.

"I sought to both address the wrongs and determine a way forward in an honest manner," Jillings said. "The offer of compensation was for damage incurred and was not a bribe or threat to Tom Williams."

There is also the question of when Evans became fully aware of the cover-up. He says he did not know until 3 August, but according to evidence given to the inquiry he offered to follow Richards in resigning when the two met on 21 July. There are also questions about the content of a 31 July meeting, mentioned during Williams's appeal, between him, Evans and Damian Hopley, the chief executive of the Professional Rugby Players' Association.

Blackett, a circuit court judge, has ruled out action against players involved in the additional four cases of blood faking because they gave evidence anonymously. But it is still within his power to add to the ERC's penalties.

"If a judgment of the European Rugby Cup disciplinary process provides allegations of misconduct that have not been addressed I have to consider whether further investigation is justified, needed or right," he said.

The information passed on to Twickenham by the ERC also forms part of the evidence examined by the Image of the Game Task Group, which held its first meeting this week.

Tony Copsey, the former Wales lock, is to leave Wasps after two years as their chief executive. The new owner, Steve Hayes, has made Mark Rigby executive chairman and Lawrence Dallaglio a director.