Michael Cheika banned after ‘passive-aggressive’ doctor left shaken by ‘intense eye contact’

A disagreement with an independent match-day doctor left Michael Cheika, the Leicester Tigers head coach, feeling humiliated, while the doctor believed Cheika had been “overly aggressive, with intense eye contact”, according to the written judgment of a disciplinary panel.

The Rugby Football Union this week handed Cheika a two-match ban, with one week suspended, after finding him guilty of “disrespecting” the doctor, following a disagreement over the treatment of England lock Ollie Chessum in Leicester’s win over Exeter Chiefs last month. It means Cheika will not be involved in any match-day activities for Leicester’s game at Newcastle Falcons this weekend.

Chessum was taken off the field for a head-injury assessment after a collision with teammate Solomone Kata, a former Warriors NRL player. A miscommunication between the independent doctor and team doctor meant that Chessum returned after passing the HIA, despite clear video evidence showing he had suffered a head injury which should have led to him being immediately removed from play.

That confusion over Chessum passing the HIA before then being classified as an Immediate Permanent Removal led to the conversation between the independent doctor and Cheika, who visited the medical room after the match.

Giving evidence, the doctor described Cheika as “irritated”, “overly aggressive, with intense eye contact, crossed arms”, “dismissive and harsh speaking” and “rather rude and confrontational”, while also informing the doctor that he would “instruct my team to overrule your decision”.

The doctor responded by telling Cheika “he was being rude and aggressive and was standing too close to him and that his behaviour was not acceptable”, with Cheika responding that he was taller than the doctor and asking if he should stand back.

Leicester Tigers coach Michael Cheika.Credit: Getty Images

Cheika, in his evidence, said the doctor did not know who the head coach was when he entered the medical room, adding that the doctor said to him while Chessum was in the room that Cheika was not acting in the best interests of his player. Cheika took this as a “tactic to try to humiliate him in front of the player”, which left him “extremely disappointed”, feeling that the doctor was being “passive-aggressive” and “belittling”. Cheika added that he did not shout or swear during the exchange, and had only wanted to know how the assessment had gone “pear-shaped”.

Chessum, giving evidence, added that “no one in the room raised their voice. Frustration was the key word, disagreement.”

The independent disciplinary panel concluded that the allegation that Cheika had intimidated the doctor had not been proven, but that he had disrespected him during the five-minute discussion. Cheika and Leicester have 14 days from the decision being announced to lodge an appeal.

Giving evidence, the doctor revealed that it had been concluded there was “Criteria 1” evidence for Chessum to be removed following video review, but officials did not want to interrupt the team doctor while Chessum’s HIA was taking place. In the meantime, the independent doctor then treated Kata, who was not originally removed from the pitch at the same time as Chessum but instead came off following a second head impact, after Kata had been sent off for a high tackle on Exeter’s Jack Yeandle.

Kata was immediately ruled out and by the time the independent doctor returned to the team doctor to discuss Chessum, the England lock had returned to the field. This was described by the independent doctor as “a mistake” by the team doctor, as both were required to sign off on a player’s return following a joint video review and discussion.

Regarding why Kata had not been originally brought off at the same time as Chessum, the independent doctor said he had assumed that the Leicester physio would bring off Kata at the same time, adding: “Assumptions had been made and that is where mistakes can be made.”

Telegraph, London