Candice Warner has claimed she was told to ‘shut up’ by Cricket Australia officials after fans in South Africa taunted her over her infamous toilet visit with Sonny Bill Williams.
During Australia’s ill-fated 2018 tour of South Africa, Proteas fans wore Williams masks during the second test at Port Elizabeth in a thinly disguised dig at David Warner.
In 2007, long before she met her husband, Candice and the former All Blacks star were infamously filmed without their consent in a toilet cubicle at Sydney’s Clovelly Hotel.
A number of Cricket South Africa officials appeared to pose for photos with the same fans, which infuriated the Warners.
And Candice has now revealed that they reportedly received little support from Cricket Australia for the incident.
Candice Warner (right) has revealed that Cricket Australia told her to ‘shut up’ after South African fans taunted her during her toilet visit with Sonny Bill Williams
Long before she married husband David, Candice and the then Bulldogs star were infamously filmed without their consent in a toilet cubicle at Sydney’s Clovelly Hotel
“Someone in Cricket Australia at the time within the team even told me it’s in the best interest of the team to keep your mouth shut,” she told the Matty Johns podcast.
“That woke me up, and woke up David (…) we have so much respect for the team, but we are human too.
“There was no help at all. It’s sad because I’ve learned to just accept it.’
Speaking on Channel 10’s The Project earlier this month, Warner admitted the incident, which took place when she was 22, left a deep impression on her.
“It’s really real to me, it’s the pain I put my family through, it’s the hurt and pain, like it’s so deep. (…) I just couldn’t take it anymore,’ she said.
“I couldn’t stand the headlines, I couldn’t stand disappointing my parents, I couldn’t stand it, it was all too much.”
The tour of South Africa went from bad to worse for the Warners, with David being banned from any leading Cricket Australia role for his involvement in the Cape Town ball tampering incident.
During the third Test match of the series, Warner and former Australia captain Steve Smith instructed batsman Cameron Bancroft to tamper with the ball with a piece of sandpaper.
Cricket South Africa had to apologize after two officials in 2018 posed for a photo showing fans wearing Sonny Bill Williams masks, meant to mock Warner
Bancroft was caught on camera chafing the ball and was subsequently suspended from cricket for nine months, while Warner and Smith were all banned from the game for 12 months.
Smith was barred from captaining any team for two years, while Warner, the then Test vice-captain, was banned for life from managerial positions.
Candice, who is on the publicity track for her new memoir “Running Strong,” has been a fierce defender of her husband, whom she married in 2015.
The Australian opener was considered the main instigator of the ball mess scandal and the former Ironwoman told the Matty Johns Podcast that she felt Cricket Australia wanted to cut her husband off immediately after the incident.
“There was no support,” she said.
“Actually from the moment we left the hotel in South Africa, David was wiped off.
“There was no Cricket Australia official to help him. There was nothing. It’s like taking care of yourself now, see you later. Thanks for your services.
Warner and Steve Smith were found to have been the instigators of the ball-tampering saga in the third Test of the series at Newlands in March 2018
The veteran opener was handed a lifetime ban from captaining Australia in any game for his role in the Sandpaper gate scandal against South Africa four years ago.
“We’re probably going to do our best to make sure you never come back to play cricket for our country. We’re going to blame you for everything, and that’s what they did.’
In November, Cricket Australia passed an amendment to its code of conduct, which is expected to allow Warner to request a review of the sanction.
But a month later, both were told by the independent panel of code of conduct commissioners that they were firm on the matter.
Warner subsequently withdrew his appeal against his lifetime captaincy, issuing an explosive statement accusing the review panel of seeking a “public lynching.”
