Hassanein: “The players in this situation deserve better than this”

The International Rugby Players Association has asked World Rugby to take on greater control over rugby tournaments following the recent controversial Rugby Europe Championship which doubled as RWC 2019 qualifiers. A statement to World Rugby declared “the players in this situation deserve better than this”.

The scandal that has shaken Rugby Europe to the core erupted on March 18 following a controversial RWC qualifier between Belgium and Spain in Brussels. The visitors were resounding favorites but lost, enabling Romania to qualify for Japan 2019 instead.

Rugby Europe had allocated Romanian officials and turned down a request from Spain to have this overturned to ensure a transparent qualifying process. A chronological detailing of all events following the match can be seen by clicking here.

The severity of the situation led to World Rugby stating that Belgium vs Spain ought to be replayed, confirming that Spain’s request should have been attended to.

Yet with a player eligibility scandal implicating Belgium, Romania and Spain additional countries are all directly involved now. This includes Germany and Portugal who were to play a Rugby Europe Trophy winner vs Rugby Europe Championship loser play-off on April 28.

Samoa await the winner of Portugal vs Europe 2 in RWC qualifiers in June. As it stands that team is Spain yet the inquiry could well change this. Canada and the USA are scheduled to face Russia in June, a tour which also hangs in the balance.

The International Rugby Players representative body also requested greater transparency from World Rugby, specifically for RWC qualifiers. This included increased accountability from World Rugby’s regional organizations, such as Rugby Europe.

International Rugby Players CEO Omar Hassanein stated:

“We support World Rugby’s efforts to eradicate any perceived manipulation of fair play. Players, especially at Tier Two level, sacrifice a lot to follow their Rugby World Cup dream and, if integrity is undermined, it will erode the trust which exists between players, administrators and fans of our sport. The players in this situation deserve better than this.”

The association also welcomed the decision to establish an independent committee to examine the allegations of player eligibility abuse in Rugby Europe Championship matches.

“We have seen how damaging it can be to the reputation of other sports when questions about integrity have been raised and are not dealt with properly. Competitions at all levels of the professional game need to be administered with the same high standards to preserve the integrity and values of our sport.”

The complete statement from the International Players Association can be viewed by clicking here.