Rassie Erasmus has been issued a two-month suspension due to his conduct towards match officials during the Lions series.
An independent commission has confirmed six counts of misconduct against Rassie Erasmus. As a result, he has been barred from participating in any match-day activities until September 30, 2022. Consequently, Erasmus will not be present during the Springboks’ match against England at Twickenham on Saturday.
Rassie Erasmus, the director of rugby for South Africa, has been suspended from all rugby-related activities for a duration of two months.
This disciplinary action is a result of his misconduct towards the match officials during the series against the British and Irish Lions last summer.
An independent commission has upheld six claims of wrongdoing that were made by World Rugby against Erasmus.
Erasmus is also suspended from all match-day activities, including coaching and media involvement, until September 30, 2022.
It means the man who guided South Africa to a World Cup triumph in 2019—winning England in the final—will be able to play no part when South Africa face England again at Twickenham on Wednesday.
Erasmus utilized social media to highlight refereeing irregularities, starting with the Lions’ defeat to South Africa ‘A’, and following the first test, he appeared in an hour-long video, attacking the performance of the officials.
The charges upheld by an independent misconduct committee included insulting, criticizing, and/or demeaning the game and match officials, and not acknowledging the authority of match officials.
The first complaint alleged that Erasmus threatened a match official that, unless a desired meeting took place, he would distribute footage featuring clips condemning the match official’s performance and subsequently made good on that threat.
Erasmus has also been given caution as to his future conduct and must apologise to the relevant match officials.
SA Rugby was charged with allowing Erasmus to commit acts of misconduct and for allowing captain Siya Kolisi and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick to make comments at a news conference on July 30 that were not “disciplined or sporting and negatively harmed the game of rugby.”.
Both counts were upheld by the independent misconduct commission, which fined the union £20,000, gave a warning about future behavior, and directed an apology be made to the relevant match officials.
A joint statement read: “SA Rugby and Rassie Erasmus have noted the judgment of World Rugby’s judicial committee.
