BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Breaking: The RFL has responded to International Rugby League’s (IRL) threat over an alleged World Cup debt, stating that it has asked for evidence of it and claimed that there is “no debt owed”.
The RFL and the IRL are in dispute over an amount of £400,000, which the IRL says is owed to them as part of the 2021 World Cup.
According to Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, IRL chair Troy Grant has threatened the RFL with denying it prize money and appearance fees from future tournaments and Test matches if the alleged debt is not paid back.
The RFL has responded this afternoon with a statement.
“Statements attributed to Mr. Grant are strange in their re-emergence,” RFL Interim CEO Abi Ekoku said.
“I have written to the IRL seeking clarification and very much hope reference to ‘sanctions’ can be backed up with evidence to substantiate claims.
“The matter of RLWC 2021 payments to the IRL has been reviewed by the new RFL Board, and our opinion is that there is no debt owed.
“We are upholding the position of the previous RFL Board, who did not consider there to be any liability.
“The RFL has provided c. £9M to international rugby league over the past decade – by far the greatest sum delivered by any member nation.
“And, as the recent Ashes Series amply demonstrates, our commitment to international rugby league has never been stronger.”
rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads reported last month that ARCL chairman Peter V’landys had stated the NRL would never use the RFL’s World Cup debt as leverage – but it has to be repaid.
The 2021 World Cup received £25 million in funding from the Conservative Government.