European Rugby Cup (ERC) bosses on Friday called for an end to the public war of words to shape the future of rugby union’s European Cup.
On Tuesday, England’s Premiership clubs will reveal plans for an Anglo-French breakaway competition when the agreement governing the running of both the European Cup and the second-tier European Challenge Cup expires at the end of the current northern hemisphere season.
Clubs from both the Premiership and France’s Top 14 are unhappy with the existing setup which sees nearly all leading sides from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Italy guaranteed European Cup places on grounds of nationality, rather than on their positions in the domestic Celtic League.
However, the Premiership’s plan did extend an invitation to teams from beyond England and France to join their new event.
The Premiership and the Ligue National de Rugby (LNR), their French equivalent, are also unhappy at the way European Cup revenues are divided, with the Premiership and tournament organizers ERC involved in a row over the ownership of broadcast rights to matches.
On Wednesday, the ERC issued a statement insisting that all parties had “reaffirmed their commitment” to the negotiation process and agreed that “European club competitions must be organized by ERC.”
That latter claim has since been disputed by Toulouse president Rene Bouscatel and Leicester Tigers chairman Peter Wheeler, but the ERC remain adamant that such an agreement was reached in Dublin.
ERC independent chairman Jean-Pierre Lux and chief executive Derek McGrath said: “We believe it is now time for ERC’s shareholders to cease public ultimatums and to enter into genuine and decisive negotiations aimed at strengthening European club rugby. Together we confirm that it was agreed at last Wednesday’s Board meeting in Dublin, that ERC, as a signatory to the current accord, should be involved in all future negotiations aimed at the formulation of a new Accord for the 2014-2015 season and beyond.”
“To that end, the Board requested that ERC should convene the next, and future, meetings, and that it should consider the appointment of a mediator to move the negotiations forward towards a successful resolution. This process is now under way,” they said, adding: “The Board further agreed that bearing in mind the commitments the company has already entered into, no other structure other than ERC would be appropriate to organize European tournaments going forward.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two