World Rugby is reportedly set to present formal charges against Rassie Erasmus this week for a breach of Regulation 18, which covers misconduct, after which SA Rugby will have an opportunity to assess and respond.
The saga surrounding the Erasmus video, in which he criticised match officials during the Lions series, led to World Rugby confirming that the director of rugby and SA Rugby will face an independent misconduct hearing.
During the 62-minute-long video, Rassie Erasmus highlighted a host of officiating discrepancies in detail, including instances where he feels officials showed the South Africans a lack of respect.
According to The Times, the hearing is not expected to take place for another fortnight, but Erasmus could face a number of sanctions, including a stadium ban. It’s said that the sport’s governing body is expected to bring formal charges this week.
The report further suggests that SA Rugby could take some kind of disciplinary action of their own to use as mitigation in the hearing, which will probably take place online.
The video went viral on social media prior to the second Test against the British & Irish Lions, and although it was widely believed that Erasmus himself knowingly uploaded it to Twitter, this has been denied by his lawyer, Frikkie Erasmus.
In an interview with Netwerk24, Frikkie Erasmus said that the SA Rugby director of rugby sent the video exclusively to World Rugby and referee Nic Berry, who took charge of the first Test between the Springboks and British & Irish Lions.
