DUBAI // Rugby league’s world governing body has rejected the idea the sport in the UAE should be run by the same body as rugby union and said it is working to find a “positive solution” to the criminal case against Sol Mokdad.
Mokdad was detained by Dubai police after the UAE Rugby Federation (UAERF) accused him of “unauthorised representation of the UAE sovereignty” in his role as president of the Rugby League Commission.
The UAERF issued a statement on Sunday criticising the code’s organisers for supporting a body that is not recognised by the relevant government authority, namely the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare.
RELATED:
> Sol Mokdad, president of Rugby League Commission, detained by Dubai Police
David Collier, chief executive of the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF), replied by saying: “The situation is very delicate at present, but we do not accept a number of the statements in the UAERF release.
“RLIF is directly involved in finding a positive and constructive solution to these issues.
“World Rugby and RLIF recognise that the sports of rugby union and rugby league are led by sovereign international federations and neither has any jurisdiction over the other sport.”
The Rugby League Cup season was halted ahead of Friday’s last round-robin game, following news of Mokdad’s arrest.
The RLIF issued a statement saying: “The RLIF is aware of reports that the president of the UAE Rugby League Commission has allegedly been detained in the UAE. The CEO of the RLIF, David Collier OBE, has initiated an urgent investigation into the reports to obtain the full facts relating to this matter in order to determine the appropriate response from RLIF.”
The UAERF responded on Sunday, via a news release sent just as the national team won its first Test in three years.
It said the UAERF had brought the action against Mokdad because he was “overseeing and managing a sporting body which is not registered with and therefore not recognised by the relevant government authority”.
It said he was “illegally claiming the title of president” because “only Emiratis can hold a governmental position at any [national governing body]”.
UAERF secretary general Qais Al Dhalai criticised the RLIF, despite saying “rugby league is an important code in the game of rugby and we fully support league being played in the UAE”.
“I’m rather shocked that regional and international bodies, like the RLIF and the Rugby League European Federation, have accepted an illegitimate individual membership, who doesn’t even have citizenship of the UAE, nor hold a government license/decree that allows this individual to carry on any rugby activity within the UAE jurisdiction,” he was quoted as saying.
“From a governance perspective, the RLIF and RLEF, being official regional and international bodies, should have in the first instance requested from any country’s sports authority an attested copy of the domestic decree of formation, or in the least the relevant license prior to accepting any membership either as an observer, affiliate or full member.”
The league season, which was set for its finale this coming Friday, has been suspended. A World Cup qualifier between Lebanon and South Africa, scheduled for Dubai Sports City in October, is also in doubt.
pradley@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @NatSportUAE