The Sports Ministry is preparing to take disciplinary action against officials of the Sri Lanka Rugby Union for failing to obtain visas and arrange air tickets for the Sri Lanka Rugby team to travel to Incheon for the match against South Korea in the Asian Rugby Championship.
The loss of this match saw the organizers hand South Korea an uncontested victory in the Asian Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship, while the Sri Lankan team fell from 37th to 48th place in the World Rugby rankings.
Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage says that the Sports Ministry should handle all the necessary financial arrangements for foreign tours, including visas, through the relevant sports association. Therefore, the Rugby Board of Control for Rugby is responsible for the loss of the South Korean tour and disciplinary action will be taken against the offending association, the Minister said.
“This is an incident that could have been prevented by the Sri Lanka Rugby Union. They applied for visas at the last minute. That means the national team was supposed to leave on the 10th. The visa was applied for on the 8th. Is this realistic?” the Minister questioned.
“This is the negligence of the Sri Lanka Rugby Union. This is not a government issue, it is a federation issue. If we provide the funds, if we cover the expenses, they should complete the other parts of the work,” the Minister said.
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