SuperSport pulls Ashwin Willemse, Nick Mallett and Naas Botha off the air in ongoing controversy, but says they're not suspended as SuperSport fails to make sufficient headway in its internal investigation.

In the ongoing controversy SuperSport has pulled commentators Ashwin Willemse, Naas Botha and Nick Mallett off air although saying none of them have been fired, with the pay-sportscaster saying its investigation started off good but failed to make sufficient headway.

In a shocking live on-air incident this past Saturday Saturday Ashwin Willemse walked off set in SuperSport's Randburg studios after a verbal altercation with Nick Mallett and Naas Botha that he said on-air he is glad the public get to see, and saying he won't be patronised anymore and won't "work with people that undermine other people".

On Monday Gideon Khobane, SuperSport CEO, still promised that Ashwin Willemse, Naas Botha and Nick Mallett will all appear, and together this Saturday on SuperSport as rugby analysts.

All three have now been dumped from television, although not suspended, and replaced by Victor Matfield, Breyton Paulse and Xola Ntshinga for Saturday.

With a massive and polarising response from South Africans over the incident, SuperSport and MultiChoice have continued to managed the fallout very badly, especially in terms of public relations and the press and damaging the SuperSport brand.

Politicians called for a boycott of DStv and SuperSport and even the minister of sports Tokozile Xasa swiftly calling for the suspension of Naas Botha and Nick Mallett over alleged racism.

After initially saying Ashwin Willemse, Naas Botha and Nick Mallett will all remain on-air, SuperSport is now saying they won't be, but also that they're not suspended.

They are just removed but will continue to be paid according to SuperSport, although presenters are usually only paid if they actually do work which is to appear on television.

"We have had discussions this week with all parties in an effort to resolve this matter amicably and expeditiously," says SuperSport in a statement, with the incident that will now be reviewed by an advocate.

"Despite good progress initially, the matter has unfortunately not been resolved. We have therefore decided to instruct an independent senior counsel, advocate Vincent Maleka, to chair a review of the incident which occurred and to make recommendations to our management."

SuperSport says that "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."

"We are committed to getting to the bottom of this serious issue," says SuperSport.

"Advocate Vincent Maleka has been asked to make findings and recommendations by Monday 11 June 2018."

BREAKING. Sports minister Tokozile Xasa calls on SuperSport to immediately suspend rugby commentators Nick Mallett and Naas Botha after Ashwin Willemse live TV studio walk out.

South Africa's minister of sport and recreation, Tokozile Xasa, in a statement is calling for the immediate suspension of SuperSport rugby commentators Nick Mallett and Naas Botha after the eye-popping walk off incident that saw commentator Ashwin Willemse leave the Randburg studio on live television on Saturday night.

Meanwhile the political party Icosa in the Western Cape on Sunday called on a boycott of MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service

Tokozile Xasa said "I call upon SuperSport to suspend the two panellists while they are busy with full investigation. The continued appearance of Nick Mallet and Naas Botha will be seen as an endorsement of their alleged racist behaviour".

SuperSport told TVwithThinus on Sunday in response to a media enquiry seeking comment on the minister's comments that "an investigation will take place. SuperSport cannot prejudice any possible findings with a speculative comment. SuperSport will release an updated statement on Monday".

SuperSport on Saturday night told TVwithThinus that it would be conducting an investigation and do interviews with everyone involved after an eye-popping live TV on-air incident on Saturday night that saw an upset commentator Ashwin Willemse walk off set after a verbal altercation in SuperSport's Randburg studio with commentators Nick Mallett and Naas Botha, while presenter Motshidisi Mohono kept the show going.

It's not clear yet what triggered Ashwin Willemse, but in a live SuperSport broadcast scene that quickly went viral on Saturday night after the victory of the Lions of 42-24 over the Brumbies at Ellis Park, the former Springbok wing was clearly upset at both of the two other seated commentators Nick Mallett and Naas Botha.

Tokozile Xasa in a statement says "This behaviour of entitlement by some white South Africans who continue to think that their whiteness represent better must come to an end, if it was not for a barbaric nonsensical apartheid system that privileged them we could not have implemented quota system to normalize an otherwise abnormal system".

"Ashwin Willemse is not just a former Springbok player but in 2003 he was named SA Rugby Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and the Player’s Player of the Year. Players like Ashwin Willemse, Bryan Habana and Siya Kolisi continue to make us proud as a nation and affirm that they are not token players or quota players."

"It is clear that Ashwin Willemse was referred as a quota player by his fellow panelists despite his many successes in the field of play, I call upon SuperSport to suspend the two panelists while they are busy with full investigation. The continued appearance of Nick Mallet and Naas Botha will be seen as an endorsement of their alleged racist behaviour," said Tokozile Xasa.

Meanwhile The Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa (Icosa), a political party founded by Trueman Prince, in a statement issued by Icosa spokesperson Dawid Kamfer, says Icosa "call on all non-white South Africans to cancel their DStv subscription, till SuperSport remove the likes of Nick Mallet, Naas Botha, Toks Van Der Linde and Kobus Wiese".

"We also want the removal of all presenters who represent apartheid South Africa on the rugby field. No more historical references for statistical purposes of the era before unification".

Faiez Jacobs, provincial secretary of the ANC Western Cape in a statement said on Sunday that "it is disturbed by the incident at SuperSport studios yesterday" and that "we know Ashwin as a strong man who against all odds, pulled himself by the bootstraps out of poverty and out of a written fate for many of the young people who come from his neighborhoods".

"We believe that Ashwin's public walkout is a result of what many black people experience in offices and boardrooms across the country, where being black is a constant source of being undermined, doubted, spoken down upon and largely made to feel outside various social cliques and cores within the same working environment."

Upset commentator Ashwin Willemse walks off the SuperSport set after a live on-air verbal altercation with Nick Mallett and Naas Botha, saying he won't be patronised and work 'with people who undermine other people'.

@Ashwinwillemse leaves the @SuperSportTV set during a live broadcast, clearly upset. What did Naas Botha and Nick Mallett say to him? pic.twitter.com/YXFdAEwJSW

— Gasant Abarder 🇿🇦 (@GasantAbarder) May 19, 2018

SuperSport says it will be conducting an investigation and do interviews with everyone involved after an eye-popping live TV on-air incident on Saturday night that saw an upset commentator Ashwin Willemse walk off set after a verbal altercation in SuperSport's Randburg studio with commentators Nick Mallett and Naas Botha, while presenter Motshidisi Mohono kept the show going.

It's not clear yet what triggered Ashwin Willemse, but in a live SuperSport broadcast scene that quickly went viral on Saturday night after the victory of the Lions of 42-24 over the Brumbies at Ellis Park, the former Springbok wing was clearly upset at both of the two other seated commentators Nick Mallett and Naas Botha.

"I've been in the game for a long time like most of us here. As a player, I've been called a quota for a long time and I've worked very hard to earn the respect I have now."

"I'm not going to sit here and be patronised by these two individuals who played their rugby during the apartheid era, a segregated era," said Ashwin Willemse who meant it in reference to Nick Mallett and Naas Botha as he walked over to the anchor desk and put his papers down.

Ashwin Willemse said he "can't work with people who undermine other people".

Ashwin Willemse told a grinning Nick Mallett he can continue to laugh but that he knew what happened.

"It's fine. It's fine. I don't mind being ridiculous. I'm glad it happened on live TV so that people can see," said Ashwin Willemse as he readied his studio exit.

Anchor Motshidisi Mohono who tried to say something, interjected with "Ash". She had no time to prepare but kept the show going and said the altercation is "unfortunate" as Ashwin Willemse felt for his lapel mic and walked off set to the right.

"Well, that's unfortunate. Because the match was going so well and so was our conversation - lots of players that have done really, really well in this game as well. It would have been great to hear Ashwin's thoughts especially because he had so much to say regarding this match between the Lions and the Brumbies."

"It is an unfortunate way for us to end this, our coverage of live Super Rugby today," said Motshidisi Mohono.

SuperSport said it is "aware of the on-air incident" and is looking into the matter".

SuperSport told TVwithThinus that "SuperSport views this incident in a very serious light - we will conduct a full investigation and interview all relevant individuals."

Afterwards the live on-air incident that quickly went viral triggered mixed reactions from a wide group of South Africans on social media, some praising Ashwin Willemse and some criticising him.