Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter is to face a Rugby Football Union investigation after castigating the standard of refereeing in the Guinness Premiership.
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 yesterday.
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 today 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 boss 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.'
However, Venter's raft of accusations were rejected in the strongest possible terms today by Ed Morrison, the RFU's head of elite referee development.
Morrison told Press Association Sport that referees cannot be held responsible for negative rugby and he praised the referees' dedication and professionalism, even those with full-time day jobs.
'What we are working towards is ensuring the number of mistakes we make and the influence we have on the outcome of a game is reduced to the bare minimum,' said Morrison.
'All the directors of rugby know what we are doing, we speak to them every week. I watched the game on New Year's Day between Sale and Harlequins, when two teams played positively, it was refereed positively and the outcome was an entertaining game of rugby. When the game is played properly, the results are there to see.
'As referees we can always do better and we are always striving to improve.'
Morrison admitted he would prefer to oversee a fully professional group of officials - but he does not believe the quality is affected because some referees have day jobs.
He believes great strides are being taken by the RFU to ensure the officials are fit enough and fully prepared for every game.
The RFU recently took on a new strength and conditioning coach to work with referees and Morrison has been delighted with the immediate impact she has made.
'When you look in the Premiership and how difficult a contest it is, the guys do a very good job in a highly-pressurised environment,' Morrison added.
'I would refute that we are not professional. I think we have moved a long way in a few years. There seems to be the notion in some peoples' minds that referees just turn up for a game at 10 to three and go home at 10 to five. Nothing could be further from the truth.
'We have a very robust review process of all professional matches. We have dialogue with all clubs early in the week and during that process we review and discuss the previous weekend's games.
'A huge amount of time is taken up with reviewing and preparation and that will continue. I am convinced we have a very professional and committed group of people.
'In an ideal world, would I like all referees to be professional? Of course I would because I would have more control over their time. But if you look at some of the best referees in the world they are not full time. What really matters is the outcome, how they perform on a Saturday.
'Like players, sometimes referees don't perform to their best and that happens from time to time. We recognise we have to continually improve because it is a very difficult arena to perform in.'
