None of the three SuperSport rugby presenters involved in the on-air controversy a week ago will appear on television this weekend, the broadcaster has said in a statement.
The footage of former Springbok winger Ashwin Willemse storming off set during a live Super Rugby broadcast went viral on Saturday night, after he accused co-presenters Nick Mallett and Naas Botha of 'patronising' him.
He also made reference to being called a 'quota' player in a derogatory manner, though any evidence of either Mallett or Botha doing so has not been revealed. SuperSport have denied that racism was involved in the incident.
The broadcaster said on Friday that the trio would not be appearing on air for Super Rugby coverage this weekend, and that talks between the three former Springboks had not progressed past the initial good discussions on Monday.
"We have had discussions this week with all parties in an effort to resolve this matter amicably and expeditiously," SuperSport said.
"Despite good progress initially, the matter has unfortunately not been resolved. "We have therefore decided to instruct an independent Senior Counsel, Advocate Vincent Maleka SC, to chair a review of the incident which occurred and to make recommendations to our management.
"Pending the outcome of the review, the three presenters involved will not appear on-air. "None of the presenters have been suspended and they will continue to be remunerated in terms of their contracts."
The incident resulted in widespread national discussions about racism, and the quota system, with Minister of Sports and Recreation Tokozile Xasa saying she felt racism towards Willemse was indeed behind the outburst, and that she would stick to that opinion despite SuperSport's alternate findings.
The broadcaster added that they would continue to look into the matter: "We are committed to getting to the bottom of this serious issue. Advocate Maleka SC has been asked to make findings and recommendations by Monday 11 June 2018."