BY JOHN DAVIDSON
“THE independent board is there to govern and if we have enquiries into them, where does it end? It could paralyse the sport completely.”
That was Rugby Football League CEO Ralph Rimmer’s response when he was asked whether there should be an independent enquiry into how the governing body has dealt with the Bradford Bulls over the past seven years.
In other words Rimmer was stating: “There’s nothing to see here, there’s no problem, I don’t get what all the fuss is about. It’s all good.”
As performances go, it was hardly Marlon Brando in The Godfather.
The RFL’s handling of Bradford, going back to the purchase of Odsal, the appointment of several different owners, the constant administrations and failures of the club, the decision to give Andrew Chalmers the club, and now former RFL boss Nigel Wood’s takeover of the Bulls, smells.
It smells badly.
Everyone can see it. It’s undeniable. But the players involved are quick to dismiss any questions or criticism.
On Thursday Rimmer denied there was any conflict of interest, despite Wood purchasing Odsal when he was running the RFL and now owning a major stake in Bradford.
“When that ground was purchased it was done so by a collective, a non-executive board plus executives – which Nigel was one of – and the rationale behind the purchase, having been in and around the organisation, was for the good of rugby league,” he said.
“Nigel was more than entitled to be involved in a club going forward, and he has done so. The RFL will apply the rules as they do and no rules have been breached. The good news is that Bradford Bulls are going to play rugby league next year that’s good, because they have a big support base.”
Rimmer denied claims that the RFL’s fit and proper person’s test isn’t stringent enough, despite the string of failed Bradford owners.
“The first point to make clear is that distinction between the past insolvencies and this, a change of ownership,” he said.
“This is a private transaction between third parties where ownership has been transferred. In relation to the regulations we apply, which are different dependent on the circumstances, the FAPP test sets out objective conditions anyone wanting to become involved needs to meet.
“It is in line with tests in other sports like rugby union and football. We had a regulatory meeting in May and clubs were supportive of the suite of regulations we’ve got – they felt they struck the right balance. When we talk about a change of control at a club, we need to apply the test to make sure everyone passes it. They did that. We needed to look at the business plan and see if it was credible. It was.”
On the decision to give the Bulls to Andrew Chalmers, a man with several failed forestry businesses in New Zealand and having run the New Zealand Rugby League into debt, he said: “What I would say is that the race was run in that moment in time. There is a description in the document you’ve got detailing the best ownership available at that time, taking into account several factors.”
According to Rimmer, Wood’s close friendship with Chalmers was not a factor: “No. A full board made that decision. I’m disappointed about some things that have happened in relations to the club but based on the information we had in 2017, we chose what we felt was the best bid to set up a new club in Bradford. Just to stress there’s beeb no insolvency, it’s the same entity as it was in 2017. That ownership have weathered a significant storm.”
Rimmer brushed away widespread claims for an independent enquiry by claiming that the RFL has an independent board: “You’ve got an independent board – that’s what they’re there for. What’s point of having inquiry into an independent board. They’re there to make decisions which are non-conflicting in best interests of the sport.
“You have the facts, barring commercial sensitivities, on finance there in front you. The independent board is there to govern and if we have inquiries into them, where does it end? It could paralyse the sport completely.”
Trust is a significant issue in this whole episode. There is a lack of trust in the RFL from many stakeholders, and a lack of trust in the past and present owners of Bradford.
Asked if the lack of trust in the RFL is an issue, Rimmer said: “Look, we’ve provided the information to stakeholders this week and hopefully that will show what’s happened. There’s nothing new there, that’s a collation of everything that has gone on.”
Rimmer was keen to stress that Wood being involved in the Bulls should be viewed as a positive.
“Nigel is Bradford through and through,” he said.
“He has a minority shareholding and a diverse board of people are there. Do I think there’s a strong ownership there who understands Bradford and understands rugby league? Yes, I do. Do I want to see them get stronger? Yes, I do.
“We cannot deny some of the disappointment regarding Bradford but we think the very best outcome has been achieved. Creditors are protected, the club continues and there’s no insolvency.”
The Bulls currently themselves are a mess of conflicting interests with Wood, the head of International Rugby League, involved as is Dewsbury owner Mark Sawyer and Ottawa bid leader Eric Perez.
But the RFL strangely appear comfortable with it.
“Again it comes back to our regulations regarding the 25% limit,” Karen Moorhouse, the RFL’s chief regulatory officer, said.
“Every sport has similar rulings. We put those regulations to clubs in May and they were supportive of it. They didn’t want to discourage investment and didn’t want to stop people coming into our sport. We don’t develop it in abstract, we develop it in dialogue with clubs and what we have at moment is with clubs.”
Despite clear evidence to the contrary, Rimmer was quick to insist that recent events at the Bradford Bulls have not been a negative.
“This has not been a disaster. The club didn’t exist two years ago, they’ve been relegated and then promoted, beaten Leeds, had a transfer of ownership, got a substantial crowd against Leeds… that isn’t a nightmare.”
Again, the evidence against that view stares you blankly in the face.
Three administrations, a liquidation, two relegations, a damaged brand, many, many people owed money, a despairing and declining fanbase, and overall massive damage to the image of rugby league.
The RFL can spin it all they like, but this is a huge own goal for the sport.
People want an independent enquiry because they are astounded how things could keep going wrong and failing again and again, and again and again.
Looking at the situation, there can be three conclusions: They are incompetent, they are allegedly corrupt (and there is no clear evidence that is the case) or it is just bad luck.
Nobody is that unlucky consistently over seven years.
If they are incompetent, they need to be replaced.
And if they are no skeletons in the closet, then let’s have an enquiry into this whole shemozzle. If there is nothing to hide, then open it up to outside investigators.
There is a lot more at stake here than just who owns one rugby league club.
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