Wakefield escapes with 'warning' after ref rant
In the immediate aftermath of the Stormers' 22-29 loss to the Lions in Johannesburg at the weekend, Wakefield – who is the President of WP Rugby – took to social media to express his unhappiness with the result.
He did not make any effort to hide the fact the he felt the referee, Stuart Berry, contributed to the team's loss.
"I really cannot describe the atmosphere in the change room. Sadness. Disappointment, robbed!!!. We remain gracious in defeat. I have never felt so sad. Have a good night's rest 'Man in the middle'," Wakefield said in a Facebook rant – which resulted in a torrent of negative comments being directed at the match official.
A day later, in an interview with the Cape Town-based Independent media, he took it a step further when he suggested that "referees are always protected, much better than the rhino".
Despite the obvious inferences that Berry's officiating contributed to the team's loss, SANZAAR took no formal action.
However, SANZAAR CEO Andy Marinos made it clear that he will be in contact with Wakefield to "remind" him that he should be careful when he expresses his frustrations in the public domain.
"SANZAAR is aware of the comments made by the WP President Thelo Wakefield, but is satisfied that the integrity of the match official has not been directly attacked in this instance," Marinos told rugby365, when asked about Wakefield's rant.
"To that end the comments do not reach the threshold required for pursuing further action under the tournament's Code of Conduct.
"That said SANZAAR will in the very near future raise the issue with Wakefield to remind him that, while he is entitled to his opinion, all care must be taken when commenting on the performance of match officials, and indeed on all aspects of the management of the tournament, to ensure there is no damage to the integrity of the game."
The Stormers boss declined to comment, when rugby365 offered him an opportunity to explain himself.
Wakefield's great escape is in stark contrast to the heavy fine slapped on Sharks Director of Rugby earlier this season, after Gold admitted a charge of misconduct, which also involved two breaches of the Super Rugby competition rules – by engaging with the television match official during the second half of his team's loss to the Crusaders on March 26.
However, it is similar to the "warning" issued Wallabies coach Michael Cheika – who at the time was still the Waratahs coach – last year, after approaching a referee during his side's 23-11 win over the Blues in Sydney in April last year. In April 2014 Cheika was also handed a sixth-month suspended ban and a fine of AU$6,000, after he pleaded guilty to misconduct – relating to an incident that occurred during the match against the Sharks in Durban.
By Jan de Koning
@King365ed
@rugby365com
