Horan cleared to face Boks
Munster bosses were furious that Horan was cited for such an offence within hours of their citing Ospreys winger Richard Mustoe for a stamping offence on the prop forward.
Mustoe yesterday received a 12- week ban from an independent committee in Dublin, who cleared Horan after finding that "neither he, nor anyone else on the Munster team, had made the remark".
Last night an ERC insider admitted the company was open to change in relation to the citing process that allows clubs 50 hours to make a complaint.
Former Munster captain Jim Williams, colleagues John Kelly and Shaun Payne, both of whom were nearby when comments were allegedly made to Ospreys player Elvis Sevalai'i, attended the meeting and spoke in Horan's defence.
Munster Branch chief executive Garret Fitzgerald, team manager Jerry Holland and video analyst George Murray also gave evidence on behalf of Horan, which was accepted by a three-person independent Disciplinary Committee, comprised of chairman Rod McKenzie (SRU), Robert Horner (RFU) and Bruce Reece-Russel (RFU).
Earlier the committee found Mustoe "intentionally kicked Horan and that Mustoe was reckless as to whether the kick landed on the body or the head of Horan".
The committee took into account mitigating factors, such as a clean record, the player admitting the infringement and that the incident was by way of retaliation for a previous, but less serious, incident.
In the case of Horan, "for an alleged remark made during the match to a player of the opposing team, the committee did not find it established that the player or anyone else on the team had made the remark complained of".
The committee held that the alleged remark had not been made.
Horan is involved in the Irish squad for Saturday's test at Lansdowne Road against Tri-Nations champions South Africa and the news yesterday will come as a relief to all concerned.
Munster coach Alan Gaffney was delighted and he said: "We know those alleged comments were never made. We were hugely confident Marcus would be cleared and there was never any doubt about that in my mind. Now he can get on with preparing for the game with South Africa and we wish him all the best."
Meanwhile, Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan has voiced his concern at the way repeated infringements by the Springboks have gone unpunished by referees.
Ireland toured South Africa in June, losing the tests 31-17 and 26-17, and O'Sullivan felt the Tri-Nations kingpins stretched the laws as far as possible to gain an unfair advantage.
The Lions assistant coach has called for strong refereeing to combat the problem and believes Kiwi official Paul Honiss - who has replaced the injured Stuart Dickinson for the match - will provide exactly that.
"I thought it was very messy at the breakdown during the summer. South Africa's capacity to slow down ruck ball at the breakdown without being penalised is a big concern," he said.
"Very few teams in the world can play off slow ruck ball and very few teams can defend quick ruck ball, and that's what we're all trying to achieve.
"The Springboks also have a high penalty count close to their line. That's supposed to be policed very strictly by referees but it doesn't seem to happen, so I am concerned about it.
"But we have a different referee this time - Paul Honiss. He ran the line at the Millennium Stadium when South Africa beat Wales last Saturday.
"He's one of the most technical referees in the world and one of the best, so that might suit us. We've had him a few times and we've always had a pretty good relationship with him.
"He calls it down the line every time so we're hopeful it will become a technical game and won't get sloppy."
South African rugby prides itself on its physical approach to the game and has encountered few problems churning out beefy, powerful packs capable of bullying any opposition up-front.
Traditionally, Ireland's forwards have lacked the muscle evident in Springbok packs and the Triple Crown winners have beaten Saturday's opponents just once in 16 meetings between the teams.
But an intensive training program introduced by O'Sullivan since the summer has proved highly beneficial in getting his players into top condition for the November internationals.
O'Sullivan said: "The guys are very fresh - we trained for five days on the bounce last week and didn't take a day off. One of the masseurs informed me that his hands are as full as they've ever been because there are more muscles to work!
"People have said they've seen a huge difference since the summer - all the players are big and strong. The fitness testing we've done confirms this. We've clawed back some of the physical ground the South Africans have made.
"My players are fresh and in good shape. There has been a lot of hunger there this week. It has been very good this week and last week. I might be tempting fate, but there is a good buzz around the camp."
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