Cheika felt unwanted after 'doctor disrespect' ban

Leicester Tigers head coach Michael Cheika says his suspension for "disrespecting" a matchday doctor made him wonder whether he was wanted in the Premiership.

The Australian was given a two-match ban, one of them suspended until the end of the season, following last month's win over Exeter Chiefs, his first game in charge.

Cheika was charged with a breach of the Rugby Football Union's rule 5.12, which covers actions "prejudicial to the interests of the game".

"Initially I didn't want to participate at all in the judicial process, I didn't think it was fair," the 57-year-old told BBC Radio Leicester.

"After speaking to the [Tigers] CEO, and based on my respect for her and the club, I decided to participate, but by doing so you have to adhere to what happens.

"I didn't want to participate because I didn't want to hear the outcome - I knew what the outcome was going to be.

"It hurts my reputation. I was really disappointed and I almost felt like - I'm not spitting the dummy here - do they really want me to be in the league?"

The disagreement arose when Leicester forward Ollie Chessum was wrongly allowed to return to the field of play by their team medic following a head collision - but was subsequently removed by the independent doctor.

The Tigers boss told an RFU disciplinary panel he informed the doctor that he felt he was being spoken to in a "passive aggressive" manner.

Cheika accepted he had raised his voice during the exchange and, at one point, moved back in an exaggerated way after being accused by the doctor of towering over him.

The panel said: "No independent matchday doctor should be subject to five minutes of disagreement about a decision that he was entitled to take and had taken."

The ban meant Cheika missed Leicester's 42-10 win at Newcastle Falcons on Saturday, when attack coach Peter Hewat took charge of the team.

"It's hurt me but I'm happy it didn't hurt the team," he said.

"I didn't like watching it remotely. I wanted to be there but at the end of the day, you can have a few involvements, a few changes, a few little re-directs.

"Pete is a really experienced head coach and I spoke to the players beforehand and they were good, they knew the plan.

"We had a few obstacles in the lead-up to the game, players coming in and out with illness, all different types of things, so I thought they handled the day really well."

Leicester return to action on Saturday against Northampton Saints, the defending champions, at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.