NRU in race against time
Andrew Poolman – The Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) club league finals cannot be hosted later than this coming Saturday, but the union’s disciplinary committee has a difficult task finding the timely and fair decision on a dispute that landed in its lap.
Late Thursday, the NRU was forced to announce the postponement of its premier and reserve league finals, which were scheduled for last Saturday.
By now, it is an open secret that FNB Wanderers has been accused by "another club" of an infringement of player eligibility rules, although details of the complaint have not been shared.
NRU president Corrie Mensah said member clubs have every right to lay complaints in case of irregularities, as long as complaints are received within the timespan dictated by the NRU constitution.
Complaints are then put to the defendant, who has three days to reply.
A next step is for the disciplinary committee to decide whether the case has merit to proceed, and if so, how the complaint should be formulated, he said.
"A reasonable time should be allowed for the accused club to arrange legal representation and prepare their defence."
FAIR PROCESS
Mensah said despite the repercussions, the NRU has no standing to speed up the process, or act outside its constitutional mandate.
"We have other deadlines related to the national team's tour to Stellenbosch - for two test matches in a mini tournament against Brazil, Zimbabwe and Kenya.
"The NRU must by 2 November submit the names of the preliminary players group for the flight booking, ahead of their departure on 7 November.
"For this reason, we can't host the finals later than 30 October,” he said.
Mensah added it is unfair for the public to accuse the NRU of playing into club politics or having other motives for the postponement, which was not caused by the union in the first place.
"The NRU must follow the process laid out in its constitution and must allow the disciplinary committee to reach its conclusion."
Late Thursday, the NRU was forced to announce the postponement of its premier and reserve league finals, which were scheduled for last Saturday.
By now, it is an open secret that FNB Wanderers has been accused by "another club" of an infringement of player eligibility rules, although details of the complaint have not been shared.
NRU president Corrie Mensah said member clubs have every right to lay complaints in case of irregularities, as long as complaints are received within the timespan dictated by the NRU constitution.
Complaints are then put to the defendant, who has three days to reply.
A next step is for the disciplinary committee to decide whether the case has merit to proceed, and if so, how the complaint should be formulated, he said.
"A reasonable time should be allowed for the accused club to arrange legal representation and prepare their defence."
FAIR PROCESS
Mensah said despite the repercussions, the NRU has no standing to speed up the process, or act outside its constitutional mandate.
"We have other deadlines related to the national team's tour to Stellenbosch - for two test matches in a mini tournament against Brazil, Zimbabwe and Kenya.
"The NRU must by 2 November submit the names of the preliminary players group for the flight booking, ahead of their departure on 7 November.
"For this reason, we can't host the finals later than 30 October,” he said.
Mensah added it is unfair for the public to accuse the NRU of playing into club politics or having other motives for the postponement, which was not caused by the union in the first place.
"The NRU must follow the process laid out in its constitution and must allow the disciplinary committee to reach its conclusion."
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