Katse was charged with misconduct, acting in an abusive, insulting, intimidating and offensive manner towards referee, Alec Maphosa. The disciplinary hearing was held over three days between May 31 and June 6. The BRU Disciplinary Committee chairperson, Curtis Matobolo said Katse was guilty of misconduct committed during a rugby match played at the UB Stadium on May 28. “The disciplinary committee has looked at all the evidence submitted by all interviewed and looked beyond the charge of foul words as presented on the charge sheet. There was compelling evidence that your conduct was unsporting and unruly with the potential to bring the game into disrepute,” Matobolo said in his ruling.
He said firstly as a coach, Katse ought to have known the composition of the technical bench and permitted actions. Secondly, he said Katse, as an experienced rugby person, should have cooperated with Maphosa when he approached the Rhinos bench in good faith to correct the anomaly. “The World Rugby code of conduct stipulates that all persons shall accept and observe the authority and decisions of match officials and shall not abuse, threaten or intimidate a match official. The code which you are expected to strictly promote and adhere to as a senior person in rugby,” he said.
Matobolo said the disciplinary committee found no reasonable explanation why Katse did not carry his responsibilities of controlling and managing his technical bench to the extent that the actions and utterances from the bench made the game unmanageable by the referee. The disciplinary committee released the sanction on June 9, in which Katse was suspended for 24 games inclusive of the one he did not participate in during the hearing period. “The World Rugby’s principle of universality shall apply, meaning your suspension is recognised at all levels of the game,” the ruling reads. For his part, Katse confirmed being sanctioned for 24 games. Rhinos head coach, Khina Masinki told Mmegi Sport that this is the second time Katse has been punished. “Last season Katse was sent off for uttering something to the referee. He went for a disciplinary hearing, referees did not show up, the hearing was rescheduled, referees did not show up again. The committee decided to deal with the matter over the phone,” he said.
Masinki said towards the end of last season, referees decided to boycott matches because coaches and clubs abused them. Masinki said referees are not getting better in officiating. “The leadership could have addressed referees and clubs on that issue. The same trend continued this season. Referees are always ready to issue red cards. Suspending someone for 24 games in a league of five games does not make sense,” he said.
Masinki said they have no idea what the suspension entails if it is only games or rugby-related activities, and whether Katse is supposed to report for training or is only suspended for games. Masinki added that when they write to BRU to get clarity over something like fixtures, it takes weeks to get a response. He said, however, that does not happen with other clubs.
