Clueless SLR suspended
View(s):Sri Lanka is in jeopardy of being ‘handed off’ from representation of the national rugby team from the Commonwealth Games 2022, to be held in Birmingham, England, after the Ministry of Sports made a sudden interception to ‘temporarily suspend’ Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR), presumably for no valid reason.
Issuing a Gazette Notification on April 1, and signed by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Namal ‘Rajapaksha’, the document with reference number EOG 04 – 0008, states that the minister has “temporarily suspended the registration of National Sports Association for Sri Lanka Rugby Association and appoint Mr. Amal Edirisooriya, Director General of the Department of Sports Development, as the competent authority with effect from -1.04.2022 in respect of administrative and other required proceedings and to call for and hold the relevant elections as well as to perform the activities of the said national sports association until then as the temporary procedure”.
CR&FC played a chuckers game, after their game against Navy SC was called off minutes before the kick off
But the Gazette Notification does not clarify as to why or on what grounds the so-called ‘temporary suspension’ comes to effect, other than the ‘powers vested in Namal ‘Rajapaksha’, the Minister of Youth and Sports, under Section 32 (b) and 33 of Sports Act. No. 25 of 1973 and its amendments.
This sudden blind side move from the Ministry of Sports comes as a total surprise to SLR, who have gone through a rough period of nearly two years, which included lockdowns, sponsorship withdrawals and competition draughts, owing the pandemic and the current economic recession Sri Lanka is facing.
SLR was sailing smooth after a shaky start after finding a title sponsor for the three most important domestic competitions — the league, knockout and 7s — few weeks ago, but is now faced with a redundant issue to deal with. However, SLR President Rizly Ilyas told the Sunday Times that they have not yet been officially informed by the MoS, other than social media reports that are circulating around since Friday night.
“I initially thought it was an April Fools prank. But to clarify matters, I called the DG, Mr. Amal Edirisooriya, and he confirmed that it was true indeed. I have explained to him verbally of what he needed to know and according to him, a letter will be sent to SLR on Monday. We will act upon after we receive the official document,” he stated.
When the Sunday Times contacted Edirisooriya, who is supposed to become the ‘competent authority’ of SLR, with no background sense or orientation on rugby, he confirmed that the development was correct, while providing reasons, that should have dealt with nearly two years ago, or have already being resolved with documented proof.
“SLR has held Council Meetings with three suspended provincial bodies of theirs. The three said provincial unions were barred when SLR held its last elections, and we learn that they (SLR) have entertained these three bodies for Council Meetings. The suspension comes on that ground,” Edirisooriya explained.
However SLR has correspondence and documented proof in possession, endorsed and acknowledged by MoS, about the developments that took place about the three suspended unions, who were duly included to the SLR Council, according to its very own constitution. SLR had made direct correspondence with Anuradha Wijekoon, the Secretary of MoS, and according to insiders the matter occurred in 2019 and was fully cleared off by September 2020.
“This sudden decision smells fishy. We sense something strange is about to take place, and our status, as a duly elected governing body representing the country’s rugby, may jeopardise our relations and upcoming programme with ARFU and World Rugby, as well as the NOC and IOC. I sense politics behind this whole episode,” a veteran of rugby, who wished to remain anonymous on safety grounds told the Sunday Times.
Surprisingly this development comes days after the citizen’s uprising, where thousands of Sri Lankans gathered around Mirihana, demanding the incumbent President of the country, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, to step down, after his government failed to provide basic requirements for daily survival of its people. Namal Rajapaksa, the nephew of the incumbent President, is one of the members from the Rajapaksa clan who has been severely subjected to heavy criticism through social media platforms.
Yesterday, the second round Cup segment match of the Nippon Paints Club Rugby League between hosts CR&FC and Navy Sports Club, scheduled to kick off at 4.00pm, was suddenly postponed upon a written request made by Navy. Interestingly, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Office, and a younger brother of the Sports Minister, is a member of Navy SC, and it was deemed that yesterday was his farewell game from the sport.
However Sri Lanka Navy had written to SLR requesting a fresh date for the game, reasoning that ‘Tri Forces personnel have been kept on standby for immediate deployments and players of Navy SC also have been nominated for this purpose’.
The game between hosts CH&FC and Kandy SC, scheduled to take place at the Racecourse ground in Colombo, was suddenly shifted to the Naval facility ground in Welisara on Friday, and on Saturday it was reported that this game too has been requested to be rescheduled by the hosts. Rohitha, the youngest of the Rajapaksa brothers, is the player cum coach of CH&FC.
On Saturday evening Sri Lanka government announced that an island-wide curfew will be imposed effective from April 2, 6.00pm to April 4, 6.00am, which indirectly justify the requests made by Navy SC and CH&FC.
However, what has occurred during the past 24 hours does not come as healthy signs for the future of Sri Lanka rugby, as this would have adverse impact on a sport that had no activities for nearly 18 months, due to reasons that are beyond anyone’s control.