Leicester Head Coach Michael Cheika Suspended for Disrespecting Independent Match-Day Doctor
Leicester head coach, Michael Cheika, has been suspended for two weeks after being found guilty of disrespecting an independent match-day doctor. The Australian will miss Tigers’ Gallagher Premiership match against Newcastle, with one week of the ban suspended until the end of the season. Cheika faced the disciplinary action following his first competitive game in charge of the club, a 17-14 win over Exeter on September 21.
Cheika, a former coach of Australia and Argentina, appeared before an independent disciplinary panel on Tuesday evening to address the charges. He was alleged to have breached the Rugby Football Union’s rule 5.12, which pertains to conduct that is prejudicial to the interests of the game and/or Union. The panel upheld the charge, citing that Cheika had disrespected the independent match-day doctor by challenging the decision made regarding a player’s immediate permanent removal due to injury.
Richard Whittam KC, the chairman of the independent disciplinary panel, stated, “The panel found that Michael Cheika disrespected the independent match-day doctor in challenging the decision he had made… The decisions of the independent match-day doctor must be respected. In this particular case, the appropriate sanction was one of two weeks, with one week suspended until the end of the season.”
The full verdict against Cheika has not been released as of yet. Meanwhile, Leicester centre Solomone Kata was sent off for a dangerous tackle during the win over Exeter and subsequently handed a four-match suspension, keeping him out of play until November. Notably, the written judgement from Kata’s disciplinary hearing revealed that the match-day doctor had overlooked on-field signs of concussion displayed by the player, which should have led to his removal from the game prior to the red card incident.