‘Hurt’ Leicester boss Michael Cheika breaks silence on recent ban

‘Hurt’ Leicester boss Michael Cheika breaks silence on recent ban.

The manager of Leicester, Michael Cheika, has stated that he was left wondering if he was welcome in the Gallagher Premiership

following the disciplinary procedure that culminated in a two-match punishment for disobedience to an independent matchday

doctor (IMDD).

Cheika was suspended following the Tigers’ 42-10 thumping of Newcastle on Saturday. He and his spouse watched the game from a

distance in Paris before she left for their home country of Australia. Having served one banned game, he will be back in command for

this weekend’s meeting against Northampton.

But the process, which began on September 21 when Cheika and the independent match day doctor disagreed over whether or not to

pull Ollie Chessum from the game after Leicester’s victory over Exeter, has left Cheika battered.

“I would be lying if I didn’t say I was really disappointed,” said Cheika, who appeared before the disciplinary panel last Tuesday.

“Initially, I didn’t want to participate at all in the judicial process because I didn’t want to hear the outcome because I knew what the

outcome was going to be.

“I believed that the choice was incorrect and that it damaged my standing. I was let down and nearly had the impression that I was

spitting on the dummy since it seemed like they didn’t truly want me in this league because of such a small incident.

“I suppose it turned out that once you started participating, you had to play by the rules. I don’t want to minimise the process in any

way, but I also want to speak out for myself. major reason being that I don’t want to risk getting into trouble again.

Not for me, I don’t care, but that’s important, and I don’t want to cause the squad any trouble. That’s the last thing we need.”

Cheika’s attitude with the IMDD was described as “overly aggressive with intense eye contact” in the written verdict for the hearing.