Controversies
In December 2009 Cooper was charged by police with burglary after allegedly taking two laptops from a residence on the Gold Coast. The charges were withdrawn after "completion of a justice mediation process with the complainants".
In August 2011, Cooper was accused of deliberately kneeing Richie McCaw in the face at the 2011 Tri Nations test, but at the subsequent SANZAR judicial hearing in Brisbane the charge was dismissed.
In September, Cooper tweeted infamous comments regarding his thoughts on the Wallabies set-up, which included criticising the defensive style-of-play and lack of player input under coach Robbie Deans, inadequate training and recovery facilities, and a "toxic environment". He also claimed he could not and would not in future play for the Wallabies under those conditions. As a result of his public outburst, 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 ongoing saga would lead to Cooper abandoning Australian rugby, however, he ended up recommitting to the Reds and ARU.
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