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SuperSport denies report was 'poor' without Willemse

Cape Town - SuperSport on Tuesday was adamant that the independent review into the now infamous on-air walk-off by Ashwin Willemse was not "poor" without the participation of the man at the centre of the storm. 

READ: The full Ashwin Willemse studio walk-off report

The incident that involved Willemse and his fellow analysts Nick Mallett and Naas Botha took place exactly a month ago today when the former Springbok wing walked off set, claiming he was being patronised.   

Findings of the review into the matter were released at the Multichoice offices in Randburg, Johannesburg on Tuesday and they cleared Mallett and Botha of any racist wrongdoings

SuperSport CEO Gideon Khobane said they believed that report is "very thorough", based on the fact that all the role players who were present on that day were interviewed - apart from Willemse. 

When asked how accurate the report was without the participation of Willemse, Khobane said: "You will read in the report that Advocate Vincent Maleka SC himself concedes that the report is a little poor because Ashwin didn’t participate." 

Khobane added that Maleka went as far as approaching vice-chancellor of the University of Witwatersrand Adam Habib to try and learn more about the subtle forms of racism.  

"We gave our input to the engagements as well because we had quite a few meetings with Ashwin." 

Khobane said they (SuperSport) believed that the report detailed the findings based on the evidence presented before Maleka.  

When later asked if they admitted that the report was poor, Khobane said: "I don’t think the report in itself is poor. I think because Ashwin didn’t participate in it, the report does not have a compressive review of everyone involved in the incident." 

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