Russia have qualified for next year’s Rugby World Cup after Romania — who had initially secured the slot — Spain and Belgium were docked points for repeatedly using ineligible players during the qualifying competition, World Rugby said on Tuesday.
After a “remodeling” of the qualification process, Russia emerged top to advance to next year’s tournament in Japan. It will be their second appearance following 2011 in New Zealand, when they lost all four pool games.
Germany, who have never been in a World Cup, now have another chance, as they are promoted to face Portugal in a playoff, although the winners face a daunting final step with a two-legged playoff against Samoa.
The winner on aggregate is to qualify for Japan 2019 in Pool A, alongside the hosts, Ireland, Scotland and Russia.
The loser would still have a chance of progress via the Repechage competition in November.
The announcement is the latest twist to a complicated and controversial series of matches as, following an investigation by the independent Judicial and Disputes Committee, the three nations were docked five match points for each ineligible player used.
Belgium were found to have fielded five ineligible players and were docked 30 points along with a suspended fine of ￡125,000 (US$168,749).
Spain used Mathieu Belie and Bastien Fuster, both of whom played for France Under-20s, in eight qualification matches, leading to a 40-point deduction and a ￡50,000 suspended fine.
Romania had only one ineligible player, Sione Faka’osilea, who previously played for Tonga Sevens. They were given a ￡100,000 suspended fine and their 30 docked points overturned their World Cup qualification.
All the decisions are subject to appeal within 14 days and Romania said they would seek to overturn the ruling.
“The Romanian Rugby Federation cannot accept a decision in which teams that knowingly violate regulations or ignorance are treated identically to those who comply with all procedural steps required,” it said in a statement.
Spain’s initial appeal to replay their match against Belgium — when a Romanian referee was in charge and Spain’s shock defeat sent Romania through — was rejected, despite the sport’s governing body supporting it.
The Spanish Rugby Federation said they were disappointed by the decisions, having sought clearance for Belie and Fuster from their French counterparts, and were considering an appeal.
“It should be recognized that the [eligibility] rule is confusing and World Rugby should have created a procedure and created a system to avoid these type of undesirable situations from happening,” the federation said in a statement.
However, the Russian Rugby Federation released a statement saying the sanctions were fair.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
RSS