The president of the Eastern Province Rugby Union, Mr Maasdorp Cannon, has been suspended for two years from holding any position or participating in any rugby structures under the auspices of the South African Rugby Union (SARU), having been found guilty of contravening the SARU Constitution and its Code of Conduct.

Mr Cannon appeared before an independent judicial committee on over the course of 14 months on six charges relating to a speech he made in February 2022 during which he variously described SARU as being a racist organisation; its leadership as “selling-out” SARU; and that the Springbok was a racist emblem. The comments were subsequently published in social media and mainstream media.

The three-person Judicial Committee ruled that Mr Cannon had clearly contravened the SARU Constitution and the SARU Code of Conduct with the intent to bring SARU into disrepute and was found guilty on those charges.

Mr Cannon has 15 days in which to appeal the sentence, should he wish.