Marais suspended from WP elections race

Zelt Marais is ineligible to hold any position in South African rugby after being handed a ten-year suspension for misconduct.

On the eve of the Western Province RFU elections to fill vacancies on the executive committee,  former WP president Marais has been banned from holding office until 2034 following the ruling of an independent appeal panel.

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In an official press release announcing the finding, SA Rugby confirmed: “Mr Marais was suspended for ten years from any and all positions in the South African Rugby Union (SARU), or any other Rugby Body, and from any and all rugby activities for breaching the SARU Code of Conduct.

“He had been charged with misconduct following various statements made in communications to SA Rugby members and in public forums in 2022 and 2024.

“The Independent Appeal Panel’s 61-page finding held that the sanction imposed by the Judicial Officer was ‘well motivated, among other things for the gravity of the charges, the fact that the acts of misconduct were ongoing, by a very senior office bearer of a member union who was well aware of his duties and responsibilities towards SARU.’

“The Panel said it and the Judicial Officer had taken into account “the total lack of remorse on the part of the appellant, which continued right up to the appeal, his ongoing justification for his actions and in effect still claiming that he was fully entitled to say what he had said on the basis that that what had been stated was ‘the truth’.

“There had been no apology for his conduct, and in particular no public apology for his public remarks. There was ongoing lack of remorse and every possibility that he would continue along this path unless sanctioned in the manner in which the Judicial Officer decided to sanction his conduct.”

As a result of the finding, Marais is ineligible to hold any position in rugby until October 2034.

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