05 May 2024 | By A Special Correspondent
Former President of Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) Rizly Illyas is keeping his legal team standing by to initiate litigation and seek punitive damages from Asia Rugby (AR) President Qais Al-Dhalai for deliberate intervention in his former administration.
Illyas told The Sunday Morning Sports that Al-Dhalai’s controversial actions had brought about the suspension of SLR’s membership by Asia and World Rugby, causing mayhem to the sport and its players, with the country still struggling to recover from the impact.
Speculation was rife in the local rugby circles that the AR President was due to arrive in Colombo to inaugurate the four-nation Asia Rugby Championship featuring Sri Lanka, India, Qatar, and Kazakhstan, which kicked off on 30 April.
However, Al-Dhalai was a notable absentee at the much-hyped event which concluded yesterday (4) in Colombo, and Asia Rugby, on whose behalf the tournament was hosted by SLR, was instead represented by its Vice President Fawzi Khawaja and CEO Benjamin Van Rooyen.
According to the former President of the SLR, he is unable to institute legal proceedings against Al-Dhalai as there is no official office for Asia Rugby in Sri Lanka.
He has therefore planned to hold the Asia Rugby official accountable for his alleged blatant interference into local rugby administration, which had led to the blacklisting of the country’s rugby union three years ago.
Following a turbulent tenure, Illyas was suspended and then forced out of office due to intervention by Asia and World Rugby, respectively, following allegations of mismanagement which he insisted were yet to be proved beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.
He charged that Al-Dhalai had intervened in his administration at the behest of a few former players “primarily for vested interests,” as he termed it.
Illyas said that the official concerned should be interrogated at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) if he were to arrive in Sri Lanka at some point, for his alleged connection to the sport’s troubles a few years ago.
He said an individual such as the AR President should be duly prosecuted, as his actions had caused severe damage to rugby in Sri Lanka and its players.
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