page_title: Quade Cooper
section_title: Controversies
hierarchical_section_title: Quade Cooper / Controversies
caption_attribution_description: English: New Zealand-born Australian rugby union player Quade Cooper after Bronze Final against Wales at 2011 Rugby World Cup.
context_page_description: Quade Santini Cooper is a professional rugby union player and occasional boxer. Although a New Zealand citizen, he has represented Australia in rugby at international level. He is a former player for the Queensland Reds and the Melbourne Rebels in the Super Rugby competition in Australia. His preferred position is fly-half.
context_section_description: In December 2009, Cooper was charged with burglary after allegedly taking two laptops from a residence on the Gold Coast. The charges were withdrawn after mediation with the complainants.
  In August 2011, Cooper was accused of deliberately kneeing Richie McCaw in the face, after McCaw had targeted Cooper off the ball, at the 2011 Tri Nations test, but at the subsequent SANZAR judicial hearing in Brisbane the charge was dismissed.
  In September, Cooper tweeted comments on the Wallabies set-up, which included criticising the defensive style and lack of player input under coach Robbie Deans, inadequate training and recovery facilities, and a "toxic environment". He also said he would not play for the Wallabies under those conditions. As a result, Cooper was fined a record $60,000 (of which $20,000 was a 2-year suspended sentence) and given a suspended three-match Wallabies ban. It was thought that the incident would prompt Cooper to abandon Australian rugby. However, he recommitted to the Reds and ARU.
  In May 2016, Cooper stated that he had been dumped from the Australian Sevens team for the Olympic Games because he did not hold Australian citizenship. It was revealed that he had been travelling on a New Zealand passport while playing internationally for Australia.
caption: Cooper in 2011
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