EP Rugby boss banned for ‘racist’ rant

Eastern Province Rugby president Maasdorp Cannon has copped a hefty suspension by SA Rugby for his 2022 tirade against its leadership and the Springbok emblem.

In February last year, Cannon launched a scathing attack against the sporting body’s hierarchy and the Bok crest during the memorial service of former prop Godfrey Thorne.

Cannon, an ardent All Blacks fan, took over as acting EP Rugby president in 2021 from the late Andre Rademan, who died months after being re-elected.

“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,” read a statement from Saru.

“Mr Cannon appeared before an independent judicial committee 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.”