Women’s 2021 NZ Rugby World Cup faces delay due to Covid-19
THE 2021 women’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand is set to be postponed until next year because of the coronavirus pandemic, World Rugby announced on March 2.
The governing body said a recommendation to delay the event, originally scheduled for September 18-October 16, would be ratified next week by tournament organisers and the World Rugby executive committee.
While acknowledging delaying the event until 2022 was “hugely disappointing”, World Rugby interim chief executive
Alan Gilpin said it was the right thing to do.
“Certainly this decision has players at heart,” he said.
“In recent weeks, through discussions with our key partners in New Zealand Rugby and the New Zealand government, it’s become clear that we do not have the level of certainty we need to collectively deliver the best environment for all teams.”
Gilpin cited recent Covid-19 cases in Auckland which have forced New Zealand’s largest city into lockdown this week, despite the South Pacific nation’s previous success in containing the virus.
He also said there were concerns “challenging” global travel restrictions meant teams would not have adequate preparation time for such an important tournament.
The New Zealand government, which has already seen plans to host the women’s Cricket World Cup this year postponed until 2022, said delaying the rugby showcase would not change its major event funding.
“We all wanted the tournament to go ahead as planned this year, but we also accept that the current Covid-19 constrained circumstances are not ideal for high performance athletes in a tournament situation,” sport minister Grant Robertson said.
“If they do postpone we are fully committed to hosting the event next year.”
Most international women’s teams are still amateur, making the delay particularly difficult for those who have balanced their lives around training with the aim of peaking at the tournament later this year.
Ireland’s director of women’s rugby Anthony Eddy said his players would remain focused despite their disappointment.
“We want to play rugby [but] the Rugby World Cup deserves every opportunity to showcase the best that our sport has to offer and that’s not possible in the Covid-19 environment,” he said.
USA Rugby said it understood that player safety needed to be the top priority.
“The Women’s Eagles will continue to prepare at the highest level as we all look to celebrate one of the world’s greatest sporting events next year,” it said in a statement.
Rugby Australia said that in the tournament’s absence, it would look at providing an alternative international Test schedule for the Wallaroos this year.
FORMER Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu was conditionally released on Tuesday after appearing before a judge looking into last year’s “Barcagate” scandal, just days before the club holds presidential elections.
Bartomeu and his former adviser Jaume Masferrer exercised their right not to speak when they were questioned by the judge following a night in jail, the Barcelona court said in a statement.
Police arrested the pair along with two other club officials, and searched Barcelona’s stadium, on Monday as part of a probe into allegations the club carried out a defamation campaign against current and former players who were critical of Bartomeu.
Spanish radio station Cadena Ser claimed in February 2020 that Barca covered up inflated payments to a company called I3 Ventures which it had hired to boost the image of the club on social media.
Part of the social media campaign included criticising current and former players like Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez, and iconic coach Pep Guardiola.
Messi described the controversy as “strange” in an interview with Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo.
Cadena Ser claimed Barca made its payments to I3 Ventures in smaller, separate amounts to avoid the club’s financial controls.
Emili Rousaud, who resigned as Barcelona vice-president in March last year, said in an interview with RAC1 at the time: “If the auditors tell us the cost of these services is €100,000 ($121,000) and we have paid one million, it means someone has had their hand in the till.”
The club took legal action against him. He was among six Barca executives to leave their posts last year, with a joint letter citing the scandal as a key issue needing to be resolved.
‘Juggling everything’
The Barcelona court said Tuesday that the investigating judge wanted to question Bartomeu and Masferrer as part of an investigation opened in May 2020 into the suspected crimes of false administration and business corruption.
Bartomeu has said I3 Ventures had been hired only to monitor posts on social media.
“Let one thing be clear,” he said. “To the question: Have we commissioned the monitoring of social networks? The answer is yes.
“To the question: Have we commissioned to discredit people or institutions through social networks? The answer is no and we will take action against all those who accuse us of that.”
Bartomeu also announced an internal audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which cleared the club of financial corruption in July but found that “internal approval protocols were not respected” when the contract was awarded to I3 Ventures.
Bartomeu resigned in October, avoiding a vote of no confidence triggered after more than 20,000 club members signed a petition against him.
His departure came in the same month Barcelona announced losses of €97 million for last season and debts that had more than doubled to €488 million.
As well as a series of political blunders, Bartomeu had also overseen a dramatic decline in performances on the pitch and a personal falling-out with Messi, who tried to leave for free last summer.
Messi accused the club of
“always juggling everything and plugging gaps” under Bartomeu’s leadership.
Reputation hit
Bartomeu’s successor is due to be elected on Sunday, when club members will choose between the final three candidates, Joan Laporta, Toni Freixa and Victor Font.
Laporta, a former Barcelona president who is the frontrunner in the race, said the arrests “diminish the reputation of the club”.
Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman said Tuesday the arrests were “not good” for the image of the 26-time Spanish champions.
“We have to wait to see what happens,” Koeman said. “I feel bad for them, Bartomeu for me has always been an exceptional person,” he added.
Asked if the he felt that affair would hurt the Spanish league’s brand abroad, La Liga president Javier Tebas said: “I don’t think so, the brand La Liga has built in recent years is very strong and it won’t affect it.”
“But it is not good for the reputation of La Liga what happened yesterday, even if it does not affect it,” he added.