Venter's rant over referees set to land him in hot water with RFU

The RFU are looking into whether Venter should be charged for bringing the game into disrepute and he is set to face disciplinary action for breaking the Premiership's code of conduct.

Venter was furious at what he felt was a transformation in the way David Rose refereed the second half of Saracens' 22-15 defeat to Leicester on Saturday.

But he also made wider accusations, criticising referees' standards of professionalism and claiming the "lottery" of their decision-making at the breakdown was killing attacking rugby.

Venter also revealed details of a confidential review of Saracens' defeat at London Irish last week and claimed he had received an apology for the performance of referee Dean Richards.

The RFU released a statement yesterday which read: "Such negative public commentary on the performance of referees, either individually or collectively, and the disclosure of confidential discussions held between the RFU and Mr Venter are highly inappropriate and do not enhance the image of the game.

"The RFU legal officer will be investigating the matter to decide if there is a case to answer under Rule 5.12 for bringing the game into disrepute and, if there is, will refer that to the disciplinary officer.

"In addition this behaviour and those comments are also a clear contravention of the code of conduct established between the RFU and Premier Rugby Limited (PRL) and personally signed by the directors of rugby.

"The RFU will be working with PRL to ensure that discussions are had with Mr Venter to remind him of his responsibilities under that code of conduct and take appropriate disciplinary action."

Venter's spectacular rant was sparked by Rose's second-half performance at Vicarage Road, when Leicester came from 9-3 down to win.

Tigers coach Richard Cockerill denied the implication he had spoken to Rose during the interval.

Venter insisted his concerns at the standard of refereeing had been bubbling under for some weeks and were not just a reaction to Saracens' losing to two title rivals on successive weekends.

"There is a problem out there and that is the game is determined by referees and not by rugby teams," he said.

"This is a professional game but we can't get it right.

"Everybody says 'Why don't you play a lot of rugby?' Maybe it's just not worth it because it is a lottery. You get a penalty, then they get a penalty.

"We have no idea what is going on (with refereeing). Everyone wanted to know why the game itself is dying. Maybe that is why it is dying."