Wheeler fined for criticising referee

Peter Wheeler, the Leicester Tigers' chief executive, was last night fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £250 costs for publicly criticising the match referee Steve Lander following the Premiership game against Bristol Shoguns on 5 May.

Wheeler appeared before a Rugby Football Union disciplinary hearing after a complaint from the West Country club about comments he made in a local newspaper column.

The Tigers' chief was found not guilty of two charges relating to comments about some of Bristol's squad and their then coach Dean Ryan, and a third of failing to take all possible steps to prevent the game from being brought into disrepute.

Wheeler, who represents Premier Rugby on the RFU's management board, criticised Lander for red carding the Shoguns' England prop Julian White and Leicester's Adam Balding for fighting but then not dismissing the Shoguns' lock Garath Archer and Leicester's Peter Short for doing the same.

Bristol's owner Malcolm Pearce said: "It appears that the panel were only concerned about comments made about one of their officials. They have seen fit to permit adverse comments about our coach at the time and some of our players and this was our prime concern in making the complaint."