By Harsha Amarasinghe

Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) are becoming increasingly concerned about the ‘bully-boy tactics’ from Kandy Sports Club which could cause real chaos ahead of the Dialog Inter-Club League Rugby Tournament, the parent body but shall not hesitate to penalise them on any breach of code of conduct according to a SLR official.

SLR are set to introduce a new format of rugby for the upcoming league tournament, but most of the top clubs have already questioned it. In fact, CH and FC have threatened to pull-out from the competition while Kandy protested this new method through a letter.

It was however, revealed on Wednesday that the letter which was sent to the SLR in protest of the changes to the format had been copied to the main sponsors of the tournament which has been deemed to be in breach of code of conduct.

“Of course Kandy Sports Club or any other sports club for that matter has the right of protesting, but they should only be dealing with the parent body. They have copied the same letter to the main sponsors which is not the right thing to do, and is a violation of the code of conduct,” an SLR official told the Daily Mirror.

The spokesman further added that the reigning champions could even face suspension should such an incident take place in the future as well.

“We will discuss this matter with Kandy Sports Club as soon as possible, but such acts shall not be tolerated and they could be issued a charge sheet,” stated the official.

Meanwhile, as a part of the new method which was introduced to be implemented in the upcoming season, the four clubs that finished in the bottom-half of the points table in the previous season were to be allowed to field one foreign player each while the top four teams must cope with local players. This was a concept that earned heavy criticism from top clubs, but SLR official stated that, “It has already been passed by the council and we should not have to discuss about it any further. The teams from the bottom-half could field foreign players.”

When contacted by the Daily Mirror, Lasantha Wijesuriya, Chairman of Rugby, Kandy Sports Club, stated that he is ‘not aware’ of such an incident.