“Casus Omissus” is a Latin legal principle meaning a “gap in the law.” In practice, it allows a governing body to act in situations where no explicit constitutional provision exists. It is meant to be a safeguard, not a loophole. But in Sri Lanka Rugby’s case, Casus Omissus has become the perfect shield for abuse exploited to justify procedural blunders, delay elections, and tilt the playing field in favour of one candidate at the SLR Presidential Elections: Pavithra “Pavi” Fernando of CR & FC.
This is not accidental incompetence. It looks very much like a carefully orchestrated attempt to rig Sri Lanka Rugby’s election.
Casus Omissus, clause 55 of the Sri Lanka Rugby constitution was slipped almost unnoticed into the third paragraph of Executive Director Chula Ariyaratne’s letter, sent out to its members after the debacle of August 26, 2025, when the presidential nomination forms were mishandled. It was inserted so subtly, in such a subdued tone, that most readers would likely have skimmed past it without realizing its significance. Only an eagle-eyed reader, armed with a fine-tooth comb and perhaps legal counsel, would have grasped what Ariyaratne was really signalling: a convenient legal loophole that could be exploited to excuse the administration’s blunders and reshape the course of the election.
How the Ground Was Tilted to Favour Pavi Fernando
- The Executive Director’s Machinations
At the center of the storm is Executive Director Chula Ariyaratne. His undated AGM notice, omission of a nomination closing time, and unilateral tampering with sealed nomination boxes created a fog of irregularities. By initially declaring most clubs ineligible, and then allocating CR & FC extra votes beyond the constitutional limit, Ariyaratne manufactured an advantage for Fernando. When challenged, he conveniently leaned on Casus Omissus claiming he was “fixing” the process with a fresh notice and a later date for re-submission of nomination forms, perhaps with a planned intention of booting out Pavi Fernando’s rival candidate Lasitha Gunaratne. - The NOCSL Conflict of Interest
Fernando’s seat on the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) at present didn’t come via rugby credentials but through the virtually unknown “National Association for Climbing and Mountaineering.” He was appointed and not voted to the post recently, as many vacancies arose due to corrupt NOCSL officials being booted out. His NOCSL President, Suresh Subramaniam, sits on Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage’s appointed SLR Working Task Force (WTF). Even more damning, the NOCSL Secretary Rifdy Fahmy was placed in the five-member Election Commission itself, appointed to oversee the elections, raising further questions of gross conflict of interest. - The NSC Connection
The National Sports Council (NSC), led by Priyantha Ekanayake, openly threw its weight behind Pavi Fernando. Shanitha Fernando, an NSC member, was even nominated by Pavi as his Deputy President to contest this election. With the Sports Minister entrusting rugby matters to Ekanayake, this coordination smacks of direct state interference. - Defense Ministry and Asia Rugby Involvement
Asia Rugby’s newly appointed South Asia advisor, Retired Group Captain Nalin De Silva, has already been reported as escorting Pavithra Fernando to meet Defense Secretary, Retired Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, in a blatant bid to canvass the votes of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. That Asia Rugby would interfere in the internal election of a member union is disturbing enough; that Sri Lanka’s own Defense Ministry would entertain such lobbying is nothing short of staggering. Yet, even more revealing was President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s private reaction when asked about the matter. He reportedly brushed aside any suggestion of backing Fernando, bluntly noting that Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith would “blow a fuse” if he ever discovered the President was lending support to the son of Hemasiri Fernando, whose name remains permanently stained by the Easter Sunday tragedy. - Referees Society’s Breach of Neutrality
The President of the Sri Lanka Society of Rugby Referees, Dinka Peiris, had ealier made his voice heard too, when he publicly endorsed Pavi Fernando on social media. Referees, the supposed guardians of impartiality, have now openly aligned with one camp destroying credibility in both sport and governance.
The Dynastic Curse
This controversy lays bare the creeping curse of dynastic politics now infecting Sri Lankan sport. Pavithra Fernando is not merely a rugby hopeful, he is the son of Hemasiri Fernando, a name indelibly scarred by the Easter Sunday bombings and stained by accusations of incompetence and corruption. Hemasiri once sat as President of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL), where he was alleged to have presided over fraud and malpractice in tandem with the now-disgraced Secretary General Maxwell De Silva. Today, whispers abound that Pavithra’s real ambition is not simply the presidency of Sri Lanka Rugby, but to eventually claim the top chair at the NOCSL itself, the very seat once held by his father. Becoming SLR President would grant him far greater legitimacy than his current foothold in an obscure, paper-thin “mountaineering” association.
Sri Lanka’s political and sporting history already groans under the weight of dynastic entrenchment. From the Bandaranaikes to the Rajapaksas, the Premadasas to the Fernandos, each family has left its scars. The idea that sport too could be dragged down this same corrupting path is both shocking and dangerous.
Do we want rugby to repeat the Manilal and Manil Fernando saga, where Sri Lanka’s football body collapsed under their leadership and a confidential KPMG “Orange Report” exposed millions in embezzled funds?
The answer should be obvious. And yet, the signs are chillingly familiar.
CR & FC Under the Microscope
For CR & FC, the club of Colombo’s elite, the stakes are equally high. Under former Sports Minister Harin Fernando, the club received floodlights paid for with public money, widely seen as political favouritism. Under Pavi’s leadership as rugby chairman, CR refused to release its players for national duty at the Asian Sevens tournament, prioritising its own knockout season. Players were made to choose club over country. This was in direct violation of sports law as well as the SLR constitution. However even this act yet went unpunished.
If Fernando ascends to the SLR presidency, will CR & FC continue to place itself above country with the state’s tacit blessing?
CR & FC Members Cry Foul
Many members of CR & FC have already contacted The Morning Telegraph, voicing their deep displeasure over the club’s nomination of Pavithra Fernando as its candidate for Sri Lanka Rugby president. One member lamented:
“It’s a pity that our President, Tikiri Ellepola, has given his blessing for Pavi to contest. Perhaps he has not been fully briefed. The constitution is crystal clear, Articles 28.2 and 28.6 leave no doubt that Pavi is ineligible. Do we really need to twist and turn the law to make it fit?”
And here lies the tragedy. For Tikiri Ellepola, the respected Trinitian from Kandy and President of CR & FC, this may well be the defining test of his stewardship. Perhaps through ignorance, poor advice, or misplaced trust, he sanctioned Fernando’s nomination. Yet if this charade continues, Ellepola will not be remembered only for his sporting heroics or the grace he brought to CR & FC’s presidency, but as the man who permitted such a mockery of rugby’s constitution and governance to unfold under his watch.
The Bigger Picture
What is playing out looks less like an election and more like a state-sponsored coup of Sri Lanka Rugby. The NOCSL, the NSC, Asia Rugby, the Defense Ministry, the Referees’ Society, and the SLR Executive Director have all, wittingly or unwittingly, tilted the field toward one candidate, a candidate who is constitutionally ineligible to contest.
Casus Omissus may have been invoked as a cover. But it is now abundantly clear: this was not a gap in the law, it was a gap deliberately created, and cynically exploited.
If this is allowed to stand, rugby will not just lose credibility; Sri Lanka will have sent a message to the world that even sport is captive to the same corrupt, politicized, dynastic forces that plague its politics.
Correction Policy: Clarification made on 7th September 2025 (UTC:06:15)
The Morning Telegraph wishes to excercise its correction policy after it was brought to their notice that a certain clarification needs to be made pertaining to the published following paragrah.
The NOCSL Conflict of Interest
Fernando’s seat on the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) at present didn’t come via rugby credentials but through the virtually unknown “National Association for Climbing and Mountaineering.” He was appointed and not voted to the post recently, as many vacancies arose due to corrupt NOCSL officials being booted out. His NOCSL President, Suresh Subramaniam, sits on Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage’s appointed SLR Working Task Force (WTF). Even more damning, the NOCSL Secretary Rifdy Fahmy was placed in the five-member Election Commission itself, appointed to oversee the elections, raising further questions of gross conflict of interest.
Correction: Officials at the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) confirmed that the appointments were not arbitrary but mandatory. The inclusion of NOCSL President Suresh Subramaniam as a member of the Working Task Force via the gazette notification issued by Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage and NOCSL Secretary Rifdy Fahmy as part of the Election Committee is a requirement under IOC and OCA regulations. Since rugby is recognized as an Olympic sport, the involvement of the NOCSL in this governance process is compulsory, as directed by both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
Editor’s Comment: As we do not possess any document to substantiate this requirement made by the IOC, we did publish our version based on the gazette notification issued by the Minister of Sports. In the past the NOCSL have issued statements that they only recognize an elected sports body and not any interim committee appointed by the Minister of Sports. The stance maintained by The Morning Telegraph was to highlight the conflict of interest that had been created since Pavithra Fernando was recently appointed as an Executive Committee Member to serve in the NOCSL and not to tarnish the image of either its President Suresh Subramaniam and or its Secretary Rifdy Fahmy. Perhaps Pavithra Fernando could have resigned from his appointed post as NOCSL Executive Member to save any embarassment that he may have caused for his NOCSL President and Secretary.
