Quade Cooper gives a statement to the media after the disciplinary hearing. Picture: AnthonyJohnson
Wallabies five-eighth Quade Cooper has been fined $40,000 for his criticisms of the national team and its coach Robbie Deans.
After a disciplinary hearing that lasted more than four hours at Australian Rugby Union (ARU) headquarters in St Leonards, Cooper was handed a further $20,000 penalty and a three-match ban if he breaches the ARU's code of conduct again within the next two years.
The Queensland Reds player, who called the culture within the national team "toxic" in an interview last month, apologised to rugby fans and said he received a "very fair hearing" in front of a three-person panel on Wednesday.
"I'm very happy with the outcome and obviously the sentence that's been handed to me, full respect for that, and I understand that I fell well below par for what it means to be a Wallaby and for all the supporters who are out there, my apologies," he said.
Cooper must now wait while the ARU decides whether or not to put a contract offer back on the table.
But in the aftermath of the four-hour hearing Cooper, who has battled a knee injury all year and will sit out the Wallabies end of year tour to Europe, broached the subject of playing again in the gold jersey.
"From now I'm just looking forward to the future and hopefully having a big year with not only my state but the Wallabies and very much looking forward to overcoming my injury and getting back on the field," he said.
The penalty handed down comprised of a $10,000 fine for a Tweet that Cooper posted criticising Rugby Challenge, a computer game licenced by the ARU, and a three-match ban and $50,000 fine for comments on Twitter and in the general media criticising the Wallabies and coach Robbie Deans.
A $20,000 portion of the latter fine, as well as the ban - which applies to Test and Super rugby - were suspended for two years.
smh.com.au
