Minister of sports, Hon Dayasiri Jayasekara has issued stern orders to suspend the current Schools rugby league with immediate effect.
The Schools rugby league kick-started last weekend amidst plenty of controversy on whether or not it will go on as scheduled due to a court case filed by D.S Senanayake College. However it did and now the poorly organized and poorly governed tournament has come under fire by Minister Jayasekara as it has already run into a number of mishaps in the opening week.
Wesley players penalized; one-year ban handed over
After the unruly incident that took place in the first match of the Singer Schools Rugby League between Wesley College and Trinity College..
ThePapare.com contacted Minister Jayasekara regarding the recent developments. The Minister who was clearly agitated with the way things are run by the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association(SLSRFA) had this to say “They (SLSRFA) have not submitted a rule book prior to the tournament. When a tournament is organized, it is a must that a rule-book is submitted by the mother union (SLSRFA) and sent to all the parties so that everyone is clear about the rules that govern the tournament. Next this tournament has kicked off without a nod from Sri Lanka Rugby(SLR) and it is not an official tournament until it gets approved from SLR who is the representative of World Rugby in the country. SLSRFA is run by school masters who report to the Ministry of education but they need to know that this sport is governed by Sri Lanka Rugby who is in charge of enforcing the rules and regulations laid down by world rugby. I have instructed Nizam Jamaldeen (President of the Referees Association) not to allocate any officials to any games until this mess is cleared out. I will take stern action on whoever it is if these orders are not followed”
The Minister raised grave concerns about the current decorum and the handling of players who are still children “In the very first week there have been quite a few incidents that need to be addressed sternly. There was a fight that broke out in the Wesley vs Trinity game and around 8 players were injured in the Royal vs St. Joseph’s game and its reported that a player’s head has been stamped-on and he was in very bad condition. The SLSRFA has not announced their disciplinary committee that will be overlooking this tournament. As a parent I don’t want my kids to be manhandled by anyone and I’m sure all parents feel the same so there should be a proper system in place to govern these young kids who are going to take on responsibility in the country as adults in the future, you cannot play with these young lives just for petty gains. The SLSRFA and the education ministry became the laughing stock end of last season when they suspended a few schools during the off season”
No substitution forms were available at Dharmaraja vs Isipathana game over the weekend
Schools Rugby league has arguably the largest spectator following in the country with the alumni, parents and students of the respective schools turning out in numbers to support their institutions. However this tournament has been continuously in the news for all the wrong reasons almost every year due mismanagement by the governing body SLSRFA. SLSRFA is comprised by Masters, Prefects of games and Principals of schools.
The SLSRFA was not available for comment.
