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Australia opener David Warner has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee after pleading guilty to a charge of making inappropriate comments about South Africa player AB de Villiers ahead of the third and final Test which starts in Cape Town on Saturday.
Warner was found to have breached the ICC's Code of Conduct for Players in an interview on Australian radio on Tuesday.
In the interview, Warner intimated that De Villiers had illegally rubbed the ball with his gloves which enabled his bowlers to generate devastating reverse swing in their 231 run win in the 2nd test at Axxess St Georges.
Warner admitted the offence on Thursday and accepted the proposed sanction offered to him by Roshan Mahanama of the Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees. As such, there was no need for a formal hearing.
Explaining his decision, Mahanama said it was disrespectful for Warner to publicly denigrate an opponent when commenting on a match-related incident, and to imply that a South African player was engaging in sharp practice.
He said he was sure Warner would be careful when making public comments in future.
