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The final decision on the controversial eligibility row surrounding the Rugby Europe World Cup Qualifiers is now set to be made at a meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 10. This has now been confirmed by Deputy Chairman of the Russian Rugby Federation Kirill Yashenkov in a video posted on their official YouTube channel. The video in its entirety (in Russian) can be seen below.
Speculation has been rampant with various sanctions ranging from fines to expulsion from the qualifying process for any or all of Romania, Spain, and Belgium.
In the video Yashenkov states, however, that a final decision has not yet been made. He also confirms that former Kazakhstan international Anton Rudoi has been cleared having gone through the appropriate ‘Olympic loophole’ and that Russia is not in danger of any sanction.
Heavy suspensions have already been levied against five of Spain’s players for referee abuse but no team has faced sanctions as of yet. A chronological detailing of all events stemming from the match in Brussels on March 18 can be seen here.
In the meantime the rugby world is forced to wait for a decision with vast implications on the qualifying process. A replay between Belgium and Spain remains on the table while Portugal, Samoa, and the Repechage qualifiers – including Canada – all left in limbo as to whom their future opponents will be.
