Leicester Tigers head coach Michael Cheika has been suspended by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for “disrespecting” a match-day doctor during his first game in charge of the Premiership team.
The 57-year-old Australian was charged with breaching rule 5.12, which addresses actions deemed “prejudicial to the interests of the game,” following his behavior towards the doctor after Leicester’s narrow opening-day victory over Exeter Chiefs.
Cheika, the former head coach of Australia and Argentina, received a two-week ban, with one week suspended until the end of the season, following a hearing by an independent disciplinary panel on Tuesday night.
As a result, Cheika will be absent for Leicester’s Premiership match against Newcastle Falcons this Saturday.
Details of Cheika’s disagreement with the match doctor and the specifics of the incident remain unclear, as the RFU has yet to release the full judgment.
“The panel found that Michael Cheika disrespected the Independent match day doctor in challenging the decision he had made that a player was subject to an IPR (Immediate Permanent Removal),” said Richard Whittam, who chaired the panel.
“Although it was an unusual case because there was a lack of clarity about the decisions made about the head injuries, the decisions of the Independent Match Day Doctor must be respected.
“In this particular case, the appropriate sanction was one of two weeks. The panel mitigated this by suspending one week until the end of the season.”