World Rugby lifts SLR suspension after three major agreements

By: Harsha Amarasinghe (Daily Mirror) - World Rugby (WR) on Friday (10) announced officially lifting the suspension imposed on Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) after reaching three major agreements.

The WR council, having held discussions with SLR, Asia Rugby (AR), the Sri Lankan government, and relevant stakeholders, agreed on three key conditions, including the necessity to let the current SLR officials carry out their responsibilities until March 2024. However, one of the key highlights of this clause was that any member who has been suspended by either WR or AR could not be a part of it, which effectively ended any chances of former President Rizly Illyas returning to the hot seat.

The official statement from WR notes that the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs has agreed to remove the suspension of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLR) and also to rescind the order creating the Stabilisation Committee. In addition to this, a Constitutional Review Group is to be established, chaired by World Rugby Executive Board member and Asia representative on the Council, Ada Milby. The group will be comprised of representatives from the Sri Lanka Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, the National Olympic Committee Sri Lanka (NOCSL), Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR), clubs, referees, and schools, with a remit for electing a new board in line with World Rugby Bye-Laws. WR opted to suspend the Sri Lanka Rugby Union due to concerns about governance and a breach of World Rugby Bye-Laws related to political interference in May 2023. The suspension took immediate effect.

The World Rugby Council and Asia Rugby mutually agreed to collaborate with all relevant stakeholders to minimise disruptions to rugby in Sri Lanka.