CAPE TOWN – SuperSport International say Ashwin Willemse, Nick Mallett and Naas Botha will not appear on air until a review is completed into the incident that led to Willemse walking off air during a live broadcast last Saturday night.
SuperSport announced via a statement on Friday afternoon that discussions were held this week in a bid to sort out the matter after Monday’s initial meeting between the trio and presenter Motshisidi Mohono, and management, including SuperSport chief executive Gideon Khobane and MultiChoice boss Calvo Mawela.
But now things are still up in the air, and it has resulted in SuperSport announcing a review under the chairmanship of Advocate Vincent Maleka SC.
Before leaving the set, former Springbok wing Willemse said he was “not going to be patronised by two individuals who played in apartheid”, referring to Mallett and Botha, whom he felt had undermined him.
LATEST: SuperSport on-air incident. pic.twitter.com/BxBTxCgzi6
— SuperSport (@SuperSportTV) May 25, 2018
Khobane and Mawela said on Monday that “no racism was found” to be the cause of the dispute.
But the incident has not been resolved, and the trio won’t be on air for Saturday’s two Super Rugby matches taking place in South Africa, although SuperSport said that they were not suspended.
“We have had discussions this week with all parties in an effort to resolve this matter amicably and expeditiously,” SuperSport said on Friday.
“Despite good progress initially, the matter has unfortunately not been resolved. We have therefore decided to instruct an independent Senior Counsel, Advocate Vincent Maleka SC, to chair a review of the incident which occurred and to make recommendations to our management.
“Pending the outcome of the review, the three presenters involved will not appear on-air. None of the presenters have been suspended and they will continue to be remunerated in terms of their contracts.
“We are committed to getting to the bottom of this serious issue. Advocate Maleka SC has been asked to make findings and recommendations by Monday 11 June 2018.”