A meeting between the president of the Asian Rugby Federation Qais Al Dalai and the Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe was held in Dubai last morning and it was confirmed that World Rugby has lifted the ban on the island nation that was imposed more than six months ago.
The ban prevented Sri Lanka from sporting the country’s emblem and colours and playing under its Lion flag at the Asian Games in China in September this year.
The team instead played under the banner and flag of the Olympic Council of Asia and performed disastrously.
A Sri Lanka Rugby official said they were relieved to learn that the ban on the national team was lifted after common sense and goodwill between both parties prevailed.
Qais Al Dalai confirmed that World Rugby had lifted the ban imposed on Sri Lanka a few days ago at a meeting held in Paris, France that hosted the World Cup won by France last Sunday.
He said that the decision will be officially conveyed to Sri Lanka Rugby.
Furthermore, it has been discussed removing the voting rights of associations that do not contribute significantly to the development of rugby and introduce the necessary amendments to the Constitution to formulate new strategies for the future of rugby in Sri Lanka.
Minister Ranasinghe thanked the officials of both World Rugby and Asia Rugby for readmitting Sri Lanka to the global fraternity and providing an opportunity for the team to participate in future international tournaments.
A personal rift between Sri Lanka Rugby and the head of Asia Rugby reportedly sparked off bad blood between the two parties that snowballed into a major conflict that also brought in World Rugby into the picture.
Sri Lanka’s international rugby coordinator Azarath Dean also participated in the discussions.
