The International Rugby League is threatening England with mammoth sanctions should their governing body refuse to pay an alleged $800,000 debt.
According to Code Sports, England’s RFL has denied to pay the money, which is owed after they hosted the 2021 World Cup.
However, the RFL deny they owe the funds, claiming that debt instead should be paid by a committee called World Cup ’21 board who organised the event and ran it.
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In response, the IRL holds a belief the RFL were behind the organisation of that board and inherited it. with the debt has also reportedly being highlighted as a financial liability by auditors.
“England needs to get their heads out of the sand like ostriches and honour their debt and commitment to the game globally,” IRL chairman Troy Grant said to News Corp.
Should the RFL refuse to pay up, Grant explained sanctions will be handed down — which could punish players.
AJ Brimson could miss out on Test caps.Source: Getty Images
One such punishment could be for England’s Test matches not to be sanctioned, meaning players Test caps would not be recognised.
The next World Cup is set to take place in Australia, New Zealand and PNG in 2026.
Therefore, the likes of Herbie Farnworth, Morgan Smithies, Kai Pearce-Paul, AJ Brimson, John Bateman and Dom Young could miss out on potential England caps.
Grant also pointed to the recent Ashes tour as one event that would have generated significant revenue for the RFL, which could help them pay their debt.
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“We don’t want to get to this extreme but potential ramifications could be forgoing prize money and forgoing participation fees and not sanctioning Test matches into the future,” he said.
“Not sanctioning future Tests would impact on their players and that’s the last thing we want to do but they wouldn’t get recognised Test matches on their records. It’s not the players’ fault.
“If they didn’t make money out of (the Kangaroo tour) then they need to get out and stop running the game and let someone do it who knows what they’re doing.
“It’s been a couple of years of frustration, chasing the money that is owed, and we’re at the end of our frustrations – they must step-up and do the right thing by the game.
“There is a list (of sanctions) and they have to come to the table to work out a path forward.”