Venter in hot water again

Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter has been fined €25,000 after being found guilty of misconduct by a disciplinary hearing in Dublin following his comments after last month’s Heineken Cup defeat to Leinster, European Rugby Cup have confirmed.

The South African was handed the charge over comments he made to the media in the wake of his side’s Heineken Cup defeat to Leinster at Wembley on October 16, and he has been found guilty of bringing the ERC, Heineken Cup, the match officials and the sport itself into disrepute.

The ERC ruling read: “The independent disciplinary committee found that Mr Venter was guilty of misconduct in that he had been inappropriately critical of ERC, the tournament, the match officials and the sport of rugby union, and imposed a fine of 25,000 euros.

“However, the Committee decided that €15,000 of the €25,000 fine would be suspended until 30 June 2012, and would be payable only if Mr Venter is found guilty of further acts of misconduct arising from ERC tournaments before that date.

“The Committee concluded that Mr Venter’s comments to media representatives were contrary to the 2010/11 Heineken Cup Participation Agreement, and it commented that in the future, the appropriate channels should be used for any communication on such matters. ”