Rugby hooliganism is getting out of control!

Sports

Six weeks of school rugby for 2009 is over. There are four more weeks of the 2009 season. This is a season where the good, bad and ugly are meeting together. The last week was to give more life to the schools rugby season.

It was also another week of shame showered by bullies masquerading as supporters.

Put away the bad and ugly and you have a determined performance by Isipathana to talk about. Last years league champs Kingswood were beaten. Dramatic if wants to say so. Royal is unbeaten and probably rubbing their hands in anticipation. One may think that the championship will force its way to Reid Avenue.

There is nothing wrong in hoping, but then the road to victory is not a bed of roses. Royal has to play Kingswood smarting of defeat. They are not known to give up. Last year they lost to S. Thomas’ early in the season but came back very strong to take the championship. Royal are yet to play Pathana who are a revitalized side. Two tough games in the weeks following the second leg of the Bradby are what Royal has to face.

Following close are S. Thomas’, Kingswood, and Isipathana.. All hoping that Royal will take one wrong step. They will be hoping that Royal fall at least once. The two weekends of rugby beginning 19th and 27th June will be the most decisive. If and buts are now at play.

At the top level the game continues to thrill and have hope. At the lower middle we saw St Peter’s turn tables on St Joseph’s. This match was played for the Rev. Fr Basil Weeratunga Trophy. One may have expected the Joes who beat Trinity to get the better of St Peter’s who had won only one match. The Joes who started the season with a great victory over Trinity have either peaked too early or lost their way. Having seen them play, I would say lost their way.

Struggling at the bottom are Mahanama, St. Anthony’s and Dharmaraja. Dharmaraja who have won one match so far has the best chance of not being in the last two. Interestingly two teams who rode the technical path to stay in division one segment one are struggling at the bottom. It is a question of not being able to assess oneself and be fair to those students who play the game. All to do with the emotion of the adult fool than the well being of the young and wise.Rugby around the clubs tells virtually the same story as in previous years. That is Kandy and CR pulling ahead of the rest. The defeat of CH in the hands of the Army follows the previous weeks defeat by Navy. The team that should be most satisfied so far should be the Army side. With no big names and those that learn the game while in the Army they have done well. At the moment following the defeat of CH they are lying in best position to be the number three side. The Park club is the biggest disappointment this season. The proud history they have in the game is shattered as players kept leaving the ship.

While the school games have attracted crowds the behavior of spectators drags the game to shame. This time too those who could not take up defeat as supporters turned violent. The ugly head of hooliganism was raised when a melee broke out among the spectators. It was reported that none of the players were at the receiving end. The fighting continued outside and some vehicles were vandalized as reported.It was only the same morning that Rugby Interim Committee Chairman Dr. Maiya Gunasekera had said that Sri Lanka has the worst behaved crowds at rugby matches.

Gunasekera told “ that referees being assaulted and abused at matches was synonymous with soccer elsewhere in the world, but sadly in Sri Lanka, such problems were associated with rugby” He is on record as having said "These problems must be nipped in the bud. We will not allow these problems to continue,"

It is great for Gunasekera to realize the need which was given a twist only the other week by those involved with the interim body. Then there is the inquirer virtually gaining pleasure when a referee was at the receiving end. Moreover playing with words will require referees to possibly first obtain a degree in English as they write reports. To get your act together one has to realize that English is not the first language of many referees around the world. The inquiry procedure should be more concerned of the outcome and not on how a report is written. While preaching is a good it also requires the commitment of the controlling body. It is here that one must start being objective and the words will truly turn to be deeds.

Vimal Perera is a former Rugby Referee, coach and Accredited Referees Evaluator IRB

Right of reply

My dear Vimal,

I must thank you for your article purely because it gives me an opportunity to reply. I will give my article in point form so that it will be easy to read and digest.

1. The Constitutional reforms that we have undertaken are of paramount importance. The new Constitution will give an opportunity for all Provincial Union Heads or Representatives of Provincial Unions to be selected to the Union with a vote and all ‘A’ Division Clubs will have one representative for two ‘A’ Division Clubs and this representative will have a vote. As at present since there are eight ‘A’ Division Clubs, there will be four representatives with a vote.

The proposed voting system was unanimously agreed by all Provinces. Thanks to Mr. Kumar Abeyewardene’s input. On the reforms we have made a fair amount of meaningful clauses which will benefit rugby football in the future. The final meeting for approval of the Constitutional reforms will be on the 24th of this month after which we will be submitting it to the Ministry and the Attorney General for approval. It was inconceivable for me to learn that Mr. Kumar Abeyewardene, the Southern Representative, who has contributed so much to rugby in cash and kind, was sitting in the previous Council as an Observer without a vote. So this was the state of affairs with the earlier Constitution, which we are correcting.

2. The international Rugby Board wanted us to have an Annual General Meeting on the existing Constitution but it is very clear that the clause for Council Members and Office Bearers of the existing Constitution supersedes the Sports Law. The Sports Law quite clearly states that to be a Council Member or Office Bearer of a Sport’s Association, that he or she should have represented National or a major division tournament in that sport but the existing Constitution goes further to say that people who have played representative rugger are also eligible. This has to be corrected and will be corrected and put in line with the Sports’ Law of the country.

3. You in your article have told me to swim with the tide and get the IRB funds. The leader of our country, His Excellence The President - Honourable Mahinda Rajapaksha, if he chose to swim with the tide and stop the war and get the IMF funds, we would not have had a country. We have to get a cue from the leader. I am not prepared to sell the soul of the Rugby Union for a few Dollars. Get the Constitution right, then the correct people will come to office and the money will follow.

4. My dear Vimal, as President of the Referees’ Society, you sat in the Council in the previous year, but you knew to sit in the Council you should have played major Division, National or Representative rugger according to the old Constitution, but you have done neither. It was I, when President of the Rugby Football Union in the late 90’s who brought in the clause to include the President or the Representative of the Referees’ Society to the Council and my best friend the late Mr. Mohamed Moosa who was the President of the Referee’s Society at the time, informed me that he is not coming to the Council since he has not played ‘A’ Division rugby and to send somebody who fitted into the requirements. So my dear Vimal, what do I say………..do you have the gift of seeing or the gift of not seeing or the gift of not choosing to see – let the readers decide.

5. I am very keen on closing the back door with new Constitutional reforms. People who are eager to see the back of me, will I suppose want to enter the Council through the back door……..this is left for the readers to decide.

6. Vimal, you have drawn an analogy to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. I must say that Tony Blair’s government which Gordon Brown inherited was a legally elected government which was doing very well. The work that I inherit now was from a Council where the President and Secretary resigned for reasons best known to them and which had Council Members which did not fulfill the criteria of the Constitution and whose accounts were rejected by the Attorney General and are still being looked into and I don’t think even Gordon Brown would have accepted work that I accepted. So your analogy is way out of line. The people who want to see the back of Gordon Brown are members of the British Labour Party who are properly elected by their constituents. As you will know, those who want to see the back of me are those who were in the previous Council unconstitutionally – I don’t want to mention names – you know them, since I am trying to close the back door. Mr. Asanga Seneviratne who will be the next president of the SLRFU fully endorses the Constitutional reforms and has given a major input to the new reforms.

7. As far as the IRB money is concerned, after the visit of the IRB Officials, they informed us that half the money will be given immediately and the rest after the AGM. When Mr. Lasitha Gunaratne met Mr. Jarrad Gallagher in Dubai during the Asian-Five nations Tournament, he confirmed the same. Mr. Dilroy Fernando was in Hong Kong about a month ago and on his return when I spoke to him over the phone in Sri Lanka, Mr. Dilroy Fernando confirmed that the cheque is being prepared to be sent to us but for some strange reason, the moment Mr. Dilroy Fernando was removed from the Provincial Unions as Head of Development, the cheque that was going to come did not come. I informed Mr. Gallagher that the Provincial Unions are elected bodies and that the money will be for Provincial Development. If the IRB does not recognize the Interim Body as you have stated in your article, how come we represented ourselves in the Asian-Five-Nations Tournament and how come that myself and Mr. Lasitha Gunaratne were entertained at the IRB meeting in Dubai. So my dear Vimal, I have the gift of seeing and I have seen some people getting in from the back door to the Council and remaining there and contributing to faulty decisions. I will make sure that the back door is closed and please don’t tell me to sell my soul or the soul of the Rugby Union for a few Dollars. We are okay as a Nation and everybody all over the world are applauding us for the victory over terrorism. This is because we stood by our principles and we did not sell ourselves for a few dollars. Get the Constitution right the rest will follow.

Dr. Maiya Gunasekera

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