Rugby:Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter has been hit with a €25,000 fine after being found guilty of misconduct following comments he made after his team's Heineken Cup defeat against Leinster last month.
After the game at Wembley, which Saracens lost 25-23, Venter warned the International Rugby Board that the game will be harmed if they do not address current problems at the breakdown. Venter was highly critical of referee Christophe Berdos and was furious he failed to sin-bin three Leinster players during the second-half.
The South African appeared before a disciplinary hearing in Dublin today where he disputed the misconduct charge. However, a three-man committee found him guilty in that “had been inappropriately critical of ERC, the tournament, the match officials and the sport of rugby union”.
After imposing a fine of €25,000, the panel suspended €15,000 until June 30th, 2012, and it will be payable “only if Mr Venter is found guilty of further acts of misconduct arising from ERC tournaments before that date”.
“The committee concluded that Mr Venter’s comments to media representatives were contrary to the 2010/11 Heineken Cup Participation Agreement, and it commented that in the future, the appropriate channels should be used for any communication on such matters,” the ERC added in a statement.
This heavy fine does not mark the first time the former Springbok centre has found himself in hot water with the game’s authorities.
Towards the end of last season he was handed a 14-week match-day ban, reduced to 10 on appeal, after being charged with conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game, coming after he made provocative and inappropriate gestures and comments towards Leicester supporters during an English Premiership game at Welford Road.
That suspension meant he was not allowed to be at Twickenham for May’s Premiership final, where Sarries came up just short in a thrilling clash against the Tigers.
In January of this year, Venter received a suspended coaching ban and was forced to apologise to referee, David Rose, after being critical of his performance during a separate Premiership contest with Leicester. His comments to the media following the game were deemed to have questioned Rose’s integrity.
Bayonne director of rugby Christian Gajan was found guilty of the same charge as Venter following comments he made in the wake of his side's Challenge Cup defeat in Connacht, but was only fined €12,500, with €7,500 of it suspended.