Schools Rugby Scandal: St. Peter’s College Provided Unfair Edge – (Video)

* Mysterious Disappearance of Citation Report – Peterite Gets off Scot Free

By Marlon Dale Ferreira

The mysterious disappearance of the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association’s (SLSRFA) appointed Match Citing Officer Colonel (Rtd) Prasanjith Wanigasekara’s submitted Citation Report provided St. Peter’s College with an advantage in fielding a player who could have been suspended for a minimum of one game which would have been the crucial encounter played against Royal College last Saturday. 

St. Peter’s College went on to defeat Royal College by 31 points to 22 in this critical league game, after the SLSRFA decided to suspend a key Royal College Player (who was shown the red card in their previous game against St. Joseph’s College) from playing in this crucial league game.

Mysterious Disappearance of Citation Report from SPC vs Zahira College Game

In this game played the previous week, despite Referee Anura Shantha turning a blind eye to a rather dangerous offense committed by the Peterite player, The appointed Match Citation Office Col. Prasanjith Wanigasekera submitted a Citation Report indicating the offense should have been a red card. However, quite inexplicably, that Citation Report vanished without a trace, raising significant concerns and suspicions about potential corruption behind the scenes designed to benefit St. Peter’s College.

The need for a thorough investigation into this matter and more so the said individuals concerned, is of paramount importance in order to identify who the real perpetrator could be and to also clear the names of the innocent.

Citing Officer Wilson Submits Report After Royalist Received On Field Red Card

The controversy began the previous weekend during the Royal College vs. St. Joseph’s College game when the Royalist Vice Captain Weerasooriya, the strapping 6-foot 4-inch second row forward was penalized on field for dangerous play. After consulting his touch judge, the on-field referee issued a red card, ejecting the player from the field of play. 

Despite this, the Match Citing Officer, P. Wilson, went on to file a Citing Report regarding the incident.

According to sources, although the incident occurred on Friday, July 19, 2024, the inquiry was not conducted by the SLSRFA until July 23, 2024, exceeding the 48-hour timeframe stipulated by World Rugby regulations. Furthermore, the player was not provided proper representation, such as a lawyer to be present during the inquiry as mandated by World Rugby guidelines.

The SLSRFA’s Disciplinary Committee ultimately decided to suspend the Royal College player for one game, which coincided with the crucial match against St. Peter’s College.

St. Peter’s College vs Zahira College – SLSRFA say they did not receive a Citation Report

However, in another game played on the same weekend between St. Peter’s College and Zahira College, an offense far more serious than that committed by the Royalists Weerasooriya was cited by the appointed match Citing Officer Col. Wanigasekara. 

In this instance the on-field referee Anura Shantha failed to give out any card, be it yellow or red to a Peterite player who was blatantly captured on camera indulging in a far more serious tackle and dangerous play than that of the Royal College player Weerasooriya who was red carded on field and also suspended for one game after an inquiry was conducted.

In this instance, the SLSRFA appointed Match Citing Officer for this game, Col. Wanigasekara had completed his Citation Report and had indicated that the said incident involving the Peterite player was a red card offense that had not been noted by the on-field referee Anura Shantha.

According to reliable sources Col. Wanigasekara had cited the nature of the offense as 9.11(Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others) and 9.18 (A player must not lift an opponent off the ground or drop or drive that player so that their head and or upper body make contact with the ground) 

When The Morning Telegraph contacted Col. Wanigasekara he said that he had followed the proper procedure and had submitted his report, although he did not specify to whom. 

His response to The Morning Telegraph read “I have done my duty clearly. That’s all I have to say”.

According to World Rugby rules, an inquiry must occur within 48 hours of a game.

However, Col. Wanigasekara’s Citation Report mysteriously disappeared, and the SLSRFA claimed they never received it, preventing the necessary inquiry into the offense committed by the Peterite player in the St. Peter’s vs Zahira College from taking place.

Reliable sources revealed that Col. Wanigasekara had submitted the report to the Head Citing Commissioner Wimal Senanayake, who allegedly instructed changes to be made to the report. 

Despite multiple attempts by The Morning Telegraph to reach Wimal Senanayake for a comment, he failed to respond.

Meanwhile the SLSRFA Rugby Secretary Manuja when contacted by The Morning Telegraph confirmed that Col. Wanigasekara’s Citation Report from St. Peter’s College vs Zahira College was never received. 

This suggests that perhaps powerful influences or corrupt individuals could have been involved in delaying the report reaching the SLSRFA, allowing the 48-hour window to lapse and the inquiry to be shelved.

Royal College vs St. Joseph’s College – Citation Report Received by SLSRFA

However, in the match between Royal College and St. Joseph’s College the burly player maker, vice-captain and six-foot four-inch second row forward received a red card for an offense during the game. In this incident the Match Citing Officer P. Wilson submitted his report citing offenses (9.11 and 9.13) on time and the subsequent inquiry was held after 72 hours which violates World Rugby’s regulations. It was questioned by many if there was any necessity for the Match Citing Officer P. Wilson to submit a report regarding this incident after the player was already penalized and sent off the field of play, unless he deemed it important that an inquiry be held, and the player be suspended for one game. Did some powerful hands not want him to play in the crucial game against St. Peter’s College?

The key point of interest here is that the SLSRFA should ensure fairness and maintain a level playing field, without showing favoritism to any particular school.

If in the event they conducted an inquiry after the stipulated time frame of 48 hours to conduct an inquiry and suspend the Royalist player Weerasooriya for one game, then surely since the 48-hour rule is nonexistent in this case, they could still obtain a fresh Citation Report from Col. Wanigasekara and conduct an inquiry into the red card offense committed by the Peterite player too. Perhaps if deemed guilty and it necessitates that he too be suspended from one match, it could still be enforced during the next Super Round stage of the ongoing league.

Referee Anura Shantha’s Indecisiveness provides advantage to St. Peter’s

Quite sadly, the quality of referring at the moment has been below par for several reasons during this ongoing season. One has been the inconsistency displayed. For example, referee Anura Shantha was found guilty when as a touch judge in the SPC vs RC encounter played last weekend he failed to call the Peterite player for stepping out of the sidelines after he was clearly brought down with ball in hand. That crucial miss turned out to be advantageous for the Peterites, as they eventually went on to score a try during that continuing phase of play. (See video above)

Incidentally it was Anura Shantha who once again happened to be the on-field referee when he decided not to penalize the Peterite player for the dangerous tackle in the SPC vs Zahira College encounter. (See video above)

President Referees Association Captured on Microphone During SPC vs RC Game

In another incident doing its rounds on social media, Dinka Peiris the President of the Sri Lanka Association of Rugby Football Referees was captured speaking on a microphone to his on-field referee during the St. Peter’s College vs Royal College game. 

Many found it strange and wondered if President Peiris was passing on instructions to his on-field referee. However, Peiris was swift to respond by saying that there was a malfunction in the microphone system prior to the start of play and that he was merely checking the system to ensure everything was working fine during play. 

SLSRFA Has a Chance to Make Amends

The red card offenses, inconsistencies in the SLSRFA’s management of the current league tournament, and the substandard quality of refereeing collectively diminish the sport’s appeal and set a negative example for young athletes. The SLSRFA has a crucial opportunity to maintain consistency and ensure fairness and a level playing field for all.

It must now decide whether to investigate the truth behind Col. Wanigasekara’s missing report and even obtain a fresh report from him, as there is ample evidence suggesting something untoward has occurred.

Alternatively, the SLSRFA can choose to ignore the issue and allow corrupt practices to continue.

The integrity of school rugby and the future of the sport in Sri Lanka depend on the actions taken.

Whom Do Aggrieved Parties Turn To?

Currently, rugby in Sri Lanka in general is in total disarray with Sri Lanka Rugby suspended and brought under the Ministry of Sports by Minister Harin Fernando. Efforts to even restore normalcy, led by Director General Rear Admiral (Rtd) Prof. Shemal Fernando, face significant challenges due to legal interventions by Provincial Rugby Unions.

Parties with grievances have been caught in limbo. They have no place to go to as an affected party, as SLR is not functioning and SLSRFA has proved to be ineffective.

Perhaps they have no option but to reach out to the Ministry of Sports and or even the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) where corrupt practices usually reported.

Maybe authorities of Royal College could choose this option in all hope that it creates a deterrent from such corrupt practices taking place in the future.