Johnny Sexton was not a happy camper after Leinster lost another Champions Cup final to La Rochelle. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
- Johnny Sexton’s Test season appears to be in jeopardy after he lashed out at SA referee Jaco Peyper and his assistants following last month’s Champions Cup final.
- According to a report, a mid-range sanction could see Sexton banned for 24 weeks, while a low-end offence would be 12 weeks.
- It was earlier reported that Sexton swore at the match officials.
Leinster and Ireland flyhalf Johnny Sexton could face a lengthy ban over comments he made towards South African referee Jaco Peyper and his assistants after last month’s Champions Cup final.
City A.M. reported over the weekend that Sexton had been charged with a misconduct letter for his comments aimed at the match officials following Leinster’s loss to La Rochelle in Dublin.
In an update late on Monday, City A.M. reported that Sexton “could be forced into an early retirement by a 24-week ban”.
According to the English publication, that is the mid-range sanction Sexton is facing if found guilty of threatening match officials.
The star pivot has been accused of three disciplinary breaches, the most serious of which relates to section 9.28 of European rugby’s rulebook, which states: “A player must not use threatening actions or words towards Match Officials“.
??EXC: #Sexton could be forced into retirement with 24-WEEK ban, @CityAM has learned, with meaningful matches and not consecutive weeks potentially forming part of the punishment. https://t.co/Y17DmsQFMW
— Matt Hardy (@MattHardyJourno) June 12, 2023
If found guilty, an independent panel could impose a maximum five-year ban for this offence but that is understood to be unlikely.
If found guilty only of a low-end offence, Sexton would face a 12-week ban, but that could still rule him out of this year’s Rugby World Cup in France.
While the bans are issued in weeks rather than matches, City A.M. reported that the disciplinary panel will make sure that Sexton is banned for meaningful matches rather than empty weeks.
This means that even a 12-week ban could still rule him out of the World Cup.
Johnny Sexton looks dejected following Leinster’s Champions Cup final loss to La Rochelle in Dublin on 20 May 2023. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
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In last month’s Champions Cup final, Sexton reportedly swore at Peyper and his match officials after the Irish giants were stunned by La Rochelle.
Tempers flared in the Leinster camp after they squandered a 17-0 lead to lose 27-26 to the French club.
After the final whistle, an irate Sexton was seen approaching the match officials, wagging an admonishing finger in the direction of Peyper.
A video obtained by Sunday newspaper Rapport showed Sexton, dressed in a suit after missing the game due to injury, admonishing the match officials.
According to the Afrikaans newspaper, Sexton insulted the officials by saying “/sport/you”re all a f***ing disgrace”.
Leinster received the misconduct letter last week and will have to respond to the allegations.
The 37-year-old Sexton has been out of action since March with a groin injury.
At this year’s World Cup in France, Ireland will contest Pool B alongside defending champions South Africa, Scotland, Tonga and Romania.