December 06, (LNW) Colombo:
Despite our consistent demonstration that the decisions made by
the Director General of the Department of Sports Development
concerning Sri Lanka Rugby were flawed, he has been compelled
to withdraw his actions following a court order that prevented his
official appointment as the administrator of Sri Lanka Rugby.
The previous rugby administration was dissolved on the grounds
of failing to hold the election on time, after which the Director
General was appointed as the governing authority. His ongoing
interference in rugby, including the reappointment of the former
chairman as a resource person, is highly unethical.
The unfortunate part is that he took no steps to rectify any of those
decisions. Instead of pursuing meaningful and ethical solutions,
he sought to further abuse his power by attempting to alter the
rugby constitution. We have previously noted that his actions bear
some resemblance to the behavior when ‘King Yasa’ temporarily
transferred his throne to the gatekeeper named ‘Suba’. That
example would be fitting for his attempt to destroy the existing
rugby constitution from his position of power, instead of guiding
those constitutionally empowered to make decisions in rugby to
act in accordance with the advice of World Rugby.
The frustration of those who were excluded from voting in the
Rugby League, the loss of votes for the Director General, and the
misuse of power resulting from his transfer of authority to the
former president, along with the clear historical facts that were
not presented to him during his tenure, were all overlooked. As a
result of this oversight, the work carried out by those responsible
for these mistakes outside Sri Lanka, as well as those who bear
international responsibilities, was disregarded.
Despite being the competent authority of Sri Lanka, the Director
General, who attended the Asian office election, was unable to
exercise his right to vote. We don’t know whether those who have
the right to vote in the Rugby Constitution will understand what
it feels like to have that power removed, whether through the loss
of the opportunity to express their opinions.
The procedure for conducting elections
As we have repeatedly pointed out, the Director General has had
to agree to act in accordance with the Rugby Constitution in court.
If he was in the hands of former ministers and other people with
whom he worked closely in Rugby, then it should be clear to the
Director General that all those people were using him to destroy
the Director General’s illustrious sporting and military
professional history.
The decision he made in the guise of a lion was legally binding
for him to change in court. This means that the process he
followed by disregarding the Rugby Constitution and attempting
to amend the Constitution without giving due opportunity to those
entitled to vote in it was wrong. As a result, he has been compelled
to issue a letter agreeing to the court order dated December 5,
2024 (CA/WRT/0438/24), which mandates convening a special
general meeting before the election, excluding the constitutional
amendment from the agenda, and ensuring that the newly elected
administration, in accordance with the Sri Lanka Rugby
Constitution, engages with the World Rugby to make decisions.
The true story of our intervention
The Director General has now been compelled to accept the
conclusion we reached months ago: that the special general
meeting and the election of officers should proceed with the
judiciary clarifying the legal framework, and that any
constitutional amendments should be undertaken by the incoming
rugby administration. Accordingly, those advising him will also
need to outline the legal implications of what unfolds tomorrow
and communicate them clearly. If they perceived showing the
correct path as a critique or condemnation, the Director General
must reconsider who truly guided him to avoid this
embarrassment.
We also wrote about how the constitutional amendment should
consider how a major and A-grade rugby club should have voting
rights in some way. We propose that A- and B-grade rugby should
be merged in some way to increase the competitiveness of rugby
in the country. The team that finishes last in the A-grade rugby
league tournament should be relegated to B-grade, while the team
that finishes first in the B-grade tournament should be promoted
to compete in the A-grade league tournament. Unless this is
addressed annually, the growth of rugby talent in this country will
remain slow and incremental.
Unless this is implemented, the gap between A and B-grade rugby
will continue to widen. The recognition, professionalism, and
social attention towards the B-grade tournament and the teams
involved will decline. The Director General’s decision to promote
the Sri Lions to Group A is a crucial step in addressing and
changing this situation. Accordingly, at the end of this year’s
tournament, two teams could be relegated, limiting Group A to
eight teams as has been the case since 2026, and sending the last
team in Group A to Group B, and the first team in Group B to
Group A. It is a small but significant step that will encourage more
teams to enhance the quality of rugby and elevate it to a higher
competitive level.
Ministers, Officials and Rugby
The actions taken by Namal Rajapaksa during his tenure as Sports
Minister led to a conflict between the Asian President and Rizly
Illyas, who was working hard to revive rugby at the time. The
Minister, despite having a former Sri Lanka Rugby captain, not
only bypassed the Sri Lanka Rugby Federation and engaged
directly with the Asia President, but also appointed an advisory
board to the Sri Lanka Rugby administration in collaboration with
the Asia President.
Although the media has made a lot of noise about the fact that Sri
Lanka has been fined £50,000 for fielding foreign players during
Namal’s playing days, and that the amount will be paid back from
the aid money received by Sri Lanka by the people who
contributed to the mistake, no minister has paid any attention to
them. Therefore, those who make such mistakes have been able
to win the blessings of the Asian Association, responsibilities and
the love of ministers to elevate Sri Lankan rugby.
Ultimately, based on a private WhatsApp conversation with the
Asia President, under the guise of promoting the independence of
rugby in the country, the Sri Lankan President was forced to step
down without a proper investigation or even a charge sheet into
the Asia President’s actions. This situation unfolded while Sri
Lankan politicians and officials were supporting and agreeing
with that decision.
Everyone from Namal to Roshan to Harin acted incorrectly in this
situation. Namal and Harin may not have made the right decisions
regarding these individuals and their involvement in rugby-
related matters. However, that does not befit a sports minister.
Even though Roshan Ranasinghe had no direct involvement in
rugby, the very individuals he sought advice from, treating them
as experts, are the ones accused of borrowing money and must
now explain how the rugby account ended up in debt.
However, the new minister understood this problem. We believe
the secretary must have grasped it through his own experience.
The deputy minister, a former athlete at Reed before he built a
rugby field, has firsthand knowledge of rugby, having both heard
and seen it in action. Therefore, the Minister and the Secretary
may have sought advice from the Deputy Minister to identify
imitations and gold.
Future steps
At this point, the Director General must have had to appear before
the court to stop the destruction of the joy of rugby in Sri Lanka
for over two months because he was convinced that the political
leadership above him, as well as the administrative leadership,
needed to work properly. We are confident and optimistic that
political authorities, administrative officials, and the newly
appointed official board for rugby administration will take into
account the positive suggestions we have made in this note
moving forward. Now that we have agreed to implement the
correct legal procedure for the Rugby election, we hope that the
new Minister and Deputy Minister will also be aware of this. The
board of officers to be elected at the election, following the
special general meeting on the 20th, will not be able to ignore past
mistakes.
