Rassie Erasmus is set to face 'severe punishment' for his video outburst during the Lions tour.

The South Africa Director of Rugby released an hour-long video during the tour, criticising the performance of match officials.

It was made public after the first test, which the Lions won 22-17.

However, South Africa went on to win the next two tests to win the series.

World Rugby subsequently confirmed that the former Munster coach would face a misconduct hearing.

The Times now reports that Erasmus is set to come in for significant sanctions once his hearing takes place.

Formal charges could be brought forward this week before the matter is advanced.

The hearing could take place in the next fortnight, in front of an Independent Commission.

Among the punishments that could be dished out is a stadium ban.

Pending the outcome of the deliberations, Erasmus is free to work with South Africa over the next two weekends.

The Springboks face Argentina in the Rugby Championship.

However, the dim view taken by World Rugby regarding the video looks set to curtail his involvement beyond that.

Breach 

In their statement last week, in response to the news, World Rugby described Erasmus' comments as 'extensive and direct'.

"Match officials are the backbone of the sport, and without them there is no game," their statement said.

"World Rugby condemns any public criticism of their selection, performance or integrity which undermines their role, the well-established and trust-based coach-officials feedback process, and more importantly, the values that are at the heart of the sport.

"Having conducted a full review of all the available information, World Rugby is concerned that individuals from both teams have commented on the selection and/or performance of match officials.

"However, the extensive and direct nature of the comments made by Rassie Erasmus within a video address, in particular, meets the threshold to be considered a breach of World Rugby Regulation 18 (Misconduct and Code of Conduct) and will now be considered by an independent disciplinary panel."