Leeds chief executive Gary Hetherington was yesterday charged by the Rugby Football League with improper conduct.

The 57-year-old Hetherington, who is widely regarded as the most innovative and successful administrator in the game, will face an independent tribunal on Wednesday October 1 over comments he made about the RFL’s investigation into homophobic comments alleged to have been made by Leeds full-back Zak Hardaker.

“Leeds Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington has been charged with improper conduct for questioning the motivation and integrity of an RFL investigation into an incident in his club’s First Utility Super League fixture against St Helens, played on Friday August 29,” the RFL said.

“Mr Hetherington is charged with a breach of operational rules...by engaging in conduct which is prejudicial to the interests of the game.”

Hetherington, a former player with Castleford, Leeds, York and Huddersfield, accused the governing body of carrying out a witch-hunt against Hardaker and claimed it was using the services of a lip-reader in an attempt to prove the case.

“We are concerned there appears to be a witch-hunt by the RFL towards Zak Hardaker and we are calling for an external investigation into the issues surrounding the investigation,” Hetherington said in a statement at the time.

The RFL announced last week it was dropping the investigation due to insufficient evidence but now Hetherington finds himself in the spotlight.

Hetherington is a former president of the RFL and founder of Sheffield Eagles.