Connacht coach Pat Lam has been fined over his ferocious criticism of referee Leighton Hodges following Connacht's loss to Cardiff last month.
Lam has been fined £8,000 for the comments, but £5,000 of that is suspended.
Connacht led 17-11 going into injury-time but conceded an 87th minute try to lose the game 18-17. In the third minute of injury time, Connacht appeared to have turned over the ball, but tough judge Hodges awarded a penalty against them for hands in the ruck. Lam brought a laptop into the press conference and critiqued a number of decisions. He also appeared to question Hodges' integrity during the press conference.
Listen to the offending comments again here.
The Pro12 disciplinary officer Jon Davies said:
While we understand that passions and emotions run high during and after matches, we have to uphold the reputation of the tournament and protect our match officials from public criticism and attacks on their character.
