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Leicester head coach and former Wallabies mentor Michael Cheika has been hit with a prejudicial conduct charge by the Rugby Football Union.
The Australian will face an independent disciplinary panel.
He has been summoned for an alleged breach of RFU rule 5.12 – conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game and/or Union.
Cheika is alleged to have disrespected the independent match-day doctor following Leicester’s Gallagher Premiership opener at Exeter on September 21, the RFU said.
(Photo by Paul Harding/Getty Images)
Leicester won the game thanks to a stoppage-time try from Tigers’ Wales international flanker Tommy Reffell.
Cheika, who previously coached Argentina, has only been in charge at Leicester for two Premiership games, having taken over from Dan McKellar.
Tigers edged Exeter 17-14 at Sandy Park, before losing 20-15 on home soil against Bath. Their next game is away to Newcastle on Saturday.
The Guardian reported that Cheika was frustrated at a red card shown to their centre Solomone Kata in his opening match.
“The frustration stems from the fact that he will miss five matches after his sending off for a dangerous tackle on Jack Yeandle at Sandy Park despite “showing obvious signs of concussion”, calling into question whether he should have been on the pitch at the time,” the Guardian reported.
“Shortly before the tackle, Kata was involved in a collision with his teammate Ollie Chessum as the pair attempted to tackle the Exeter winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso. Chessum was sent for a head injury assessment but Kata was not. The incident was later reviewed by the independent matchday doctor, who told the Tigers that both players should have been removed for HIAs due to showing category-one symptoms which results in a stand-down period of 12 days.
“Neither Chessum nor Kata were deemed fit to face Bath and, compounding matters for the Tigers, Kata’s unavailability meant that Sunday’s defeat did not count towards his four-match suspension.
“Asked about the Kata situation after Leicester’s defeat by Bath on Sunday, in which the centre Izaia Perese was shown a yellow card for a late collision with Joe Cokanasiga, Cheika said: “I think American sitcoms have made the phrase ‘whatever’ famous. That’s all I’ve got to say really.
“Whatever it is, it is now. Even [Perese] getting 10 in the bin today, he just turned his back. It is what it is now, just got to go with the flow I think. Fighting against it just gets you distracted.”
© AAP
