Ban stands: No rugby tickets for 2011 World Cup

THE International Rugby Board has upheld its earlier decision to bar the Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) President and its executive from attending the Rugby World Cup in France following an appeal hearing at the end of last week.

The hearing was held in Paris on Thursday, just ahead of the Namibia XV taking on host France on Sunday. The appeal hearing was attended by NRU President Dirk Conradie.He returned to Namibia afterwards.In addition to the ban, the International Rugby Board (IRB) has also barred Namibia from selling tickets for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.The sanctions against Namibia stem from the irregular sale of world cup tickets for this year’s competition.The hearing held in Paris focused on the clandestine sale of over 1 000 Rugby World Cup tickets which were allocated to the NRU.Initially, it was alleged that the NRU profited from the ticket sales, which were passed onto a South African-based agent, without following the stipulated Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) ticket sale regulations.Specifically Conradie and NRU chief executive Christo Alexander are not allowed to attend any matches at the World Cup.The controversy started with the ousting of former NRU financial director Pieter Fick.Fick is said to have been the principal negotiator of the sale of tickets between the NRU and a South African agent, named as M&L Promotions.The NRU, with Fick as the man in the middle at the time, decided to sell the tickets to M&L Promotions in a package to fans in that country, a move which was in breach of the RWCL ticket sale regulations.With a few weeks to go before the World Cup kick-off, Fick decided to write a report to the IRB in which he alleged the irregular sale of tickets, several dubious payments, while claiming that they (NRU) sold the tickets at 35 per cent profit, than the stipulated percentage by the RWCL.This brought Conradie and his executive under scrutiny and they were summoned to a first hearing in Cape Town, South Africa, which could still not conclude the matter.The second hearing in Paris decided to bar them from the tournament.When contacted yesterday, Alexander told The Namibian that they regret the decision by the IRB, but the union will be allowed to sell tickets for future World Cups, beyond 2011.Meanwhile, Alexander said the union will hold a press conference today, to “give a broad reflection on the beginning and the end of this whole ticket issue”.The appeal hearing was attended by NRU President Dirk Conradie.He returned to Namibia afterwards.In addition to the ban, the International Rugby Board (IRB) has also barred Namibia from selling tickets for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.The sanctions against Namibia stem from the irregular sale of world cup tickets for this year’s competition.The hearing held in Paris focused on the clandestine sale of over 1 000 Rugby World Cup tickets which were allocated to the NRU.Initially, it was alleged that the NRU profited from the ticket sales, which were passed onto a South African-based agent, without following the stipulated Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) ticket sale regulations.Specifically Conradie and NRU chief executive Christo Alexander are not allowed to attend any matches at the World Cup.The controversy started with the ousting of former NRU financial director Pieter Fick. Fick is said to have been the principal negotiator of the sale of tickets between the NRU and a South African agent, named as M&L Promotions.The NRU, with Fick as the man in the middle at the time, decided to sell the tickets to M&L Promotions in a package to fans in that country, a move which was in breach of the RWCL ticket sale regulations.With a few weeks to go before the World Cup kick-off, Fick decided to write a report to the IRB in which he alleged the irregular sale of tickets, several dubious payments, while claiming that they (NRU) sold the tickets at 35 per cent profit, than the stipulated percentage by the RWCL.This brought Conradie and his executive under scrutiny and they were summoned to a first hearing in Cape Town, South Africa, which could still not conclude the matter.The second hearing in Paris decided to bar them from the tournament.When contacted yesterday, Alexander told The Namibian that they regret the decision by the IRB, but the union will be allowed to sell tickets for future World Cups, beyond 2011.Meanwhile, Alexander said the union will hold a press conference today, to “give a broad reflection on the beginning and the end of this whole ticket issue”.