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Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne has apologised for publicly insulting state Cricket Association (RCA) secretary Sanjay Dixit after an Indian Premier League match here following an internal disciplinary inquiry by the franchise.
Rajasthan Royals chief executive Sean Morris said in an e-mail to RCA secretary Sanjay Dixit that the franchise had decided to take disciplinary action against Warne and the Australian has accepted it.
"An internal disciplinary panel was convened at earliest opportunity and met with Shane Warne to review his comments made to yourself post the prize giving. Following submissions from the player and other management staff who were present at the incident we have decided to take disciplinary action against the player," Morris said in the e-mail, the contents of which were posted by Dixit on his Twitter page.
"The player has accepted the action that we have taken and apologised for any distress caused," added Morris.
The ugly incident took place just after the prize distribution ceremony of the IPL match between Rajasthan and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sawai Mansingh stadium on May 11.
Disappointed at not acceding to his request for a favourable pitch for the match against Bangalore, Warne allegedly walked up to Dixit and abused him for not replying to his messages.
He called Dixit a liar, egoistic and asked him to go away, forcing Rajasthan Royals owner Shilpa Shetty to intervene and apologise for the incident.
Morris asserted that the franchise will not tolerate such incidents in future.
"As a franchise we have told all our players that we will not tolerate colourful language towards anyone and in particular not a senior officer such as yourself," Morris said.
"On behalf of everyone at Rajasthan Royals please accept my apologies for any distress that this might have caused you personally. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you and the entire RCA for all their hard work and support they have given to us throughout the IPL," he said.
RCA has already lodged a complaint against Warne with the BCCI and the IPL for publicly abusing Dixit for not acceding to his request of a suitable pitch.
The association has also called a meeting of its Legal Affairs Committee to discuss the incident and to investigate the Jaipur outfit's claim that they always got the wickets it wanted.