Is rugby a nobody’s favourite child?
As the defending Club Rugby League champions, CR&FC are fiercely battling top contenders Kandy SC and Havelocks SC for this year’s title, the never-ending turmoil within and outside the SLR administration continues to intensify, with no resolution in sight.
Action continues on the field while functions at SLR has hampered due to administrative issues - Pic courtesy ThePapare
Serious questions have been raised about the SLR administration over the past year—a saga that could easily serve as the script for a profit-generating Netflix series. After months of legal disputes among factions, the long-overdue Annual General Meeting (AGM) was finally set to take place. The Court of Appeal issued a verdict in early December, mandating that elections be held on or before January 31.
With ample time to prepare, the SLR Competent Authority (CA)—who is also the Director General of Sports (DG), Shemal Fernando—held a Special General Meeting (SGM) to elect an Election Committee by December 20, 2024. The election process was set in motion, with nominations invited and objections entertained, leading up to the AGM on January 21. World Rugby (WR) had issued a strict ultimatum to conduct the AGM before January 31 or face the consequences of a potential suspension.
Then came the twist. Out of nowhere, Lasitha Gunaratne, a candidate whose nomination had been rejected, took the matter to the Colombo District Court, claiming wrongful rejection. The District Judge immediately issued an enjoining order, indefinitely preventing the SLR AGM from taking place—turning an already frustrating wait into an endless stalemate.
Last Wednesday, Roshan Deen of the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU)—one of the seven Provincial Unions that had earlier petitioned the Court of Appeal against the CA’s decision to hold the AGM after SLR’s suspension—filed a fresh case against the DG for Contempt of Court. The move came after the Court of Appeal had directed that the AGM be held under proper constitutional norms. The amendment of the SLR Constitution had been the central issue holding up the AGM.
“There were cases regarding SLR, where an undertaking was given that the AGM would be held before the end of January 2025. That has not happened. Therefore, one of the petitioners, Roshan Damian Deen, has filed for Contempt of Court against the Director General of Sports. The Court has issued a rule on the DG, returnable on March 24, regarding the failure to hold the AGM,” Deen’s legal representative told reporters after the DG failed to appear for the hearing.
SLR’s constitution allowed any rejected candidate to contest the decision until January 7. Yet, instead of following due process, the issue was escalated to Asia Rugby (AR), which then issued a directive to postpone the SLR AGM. The DG promptly issued a notice on January 18—under the letterhead of the Department of Sports Development—informing all stakeholders of the postponement, with copies sent to six entities, including WR. The letter claimed that complaints had been submitted to the Ministry of Sports and the President of AR on January 8.
“Following written complaints—including a letter to the President of Asia Rugby concerning SLR elections and the implementation of the amended Constitution—a committee has been appointed by the Hon. Minister to immediately investigate these matters. Based on the committee’s findings, appropriate measures will be taken in consultation with the Hon. Attorney General of Sri Lanka, the President of World Rugby, the President of Asia Rugby, and all relevant stakeholders of SLR,” the letter stated. The Sri Lankan rugby fraternity was left bewildered by AR and WR’s swift responses to a matter that should have been handled internally by one of their own member unions.
However, while SLR’s membership is in dire need of resolving its issues, neither AR, WR, nor the Ministry of Sports has shown the slightest interest in truly intervening or mediating. With matters once again in a deadlock, frustration among rugby stakeholders has reached boiling point. If SLR were an aircraft, its cockpit has been left empty—or worse, under incompetent hands—for over a year. The primary culprit? None other than the Director General, who also serves as the Competent Authority for multiple other associations and federations, all of which were suspended for failing to hold AGMs or elections by the May 31 deadline last year.
Had these issues been handled in accordance with proper guidelines and constitutional procedures, the DG—as both CA and a government servant—would have had ample time to resolve matters, not just within SLR but across other stagnating sports bodies as well.
As for SLR, what happens next remains a mystery. While the rugby fraternity and the public continue to enjoy the thrills of the ongoing club season—and anticipate the upcoming school season—there looms the risk that all rugby activities could suddenly come to a halt, thanks to a few self-serving individuals.
With new court cases set to take centre-stage in the coming weeks and months, the sport may continue on the field, but off the field, SLR remains in limbo. WR has directed SLR to hold its AGM and amend its Constitution, but even constitutional amendments must follow the correct procedure—something a few power-hungry individuals seem incapable of grasping.