Rugby bosses barred from World Cup ’07

THE President of the Namibia Rugby Union and his entire executive have been barred from the International Rugby World Cup, which gets underway in France today.

The showpiece event is only held every four years. The Namibian rugby 15 will play their opening match against Ireland on Sunday in the absence of the executive, which had been with them throughout their preparations ahead of the World Cup.The root of the banning is the alleged irregular sale of World Cup tickets – the value of the tickets in question are said to be N$2,8 million.Namibian rugby boss Dirk Conradie yesterday denied that there were any irregularities in the sale of the tickets, despite the ban that the International Rugby Board (IRB) has clamped on him and his executive.According to Conradie, the union had paid over about N$2,8 million in proceeds from the tickets allocated to Namibia by the IRB.Conradie told The Namibian he would hold a press conference today to explain the the circumstances surrounding the sale of the World Cup tickets.He claimed that the IRB action stemmed from allegations levelled by former financial director of the NRU, Pieter Fick, informing the Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) about an alleged ticket scam, as part of the monies generated that were deposited in the Conradie and Damaseb Trust Account, a local law firm, in which the union’s president is a partner.Conradie denied that he had sold tickets at a 35 per cent profit to a certain South African company in contravention of IRB rules.He admitted that monies were paid into the Conradie and Damaseb Trust Account, but denied that it accumulated interest of about N$66 000 as reported in a local English weekly.According to the report, the RWCL’s Judicial Officer, Graeme Mew recommended that the the NRU executive be banned from the IRB VIP Programme, which is offered by the RWCL in the wake of the alleged ticket scandal.Conradie did not comment on their exclusion from the VIP Programme, but said that the NRU has done nothing wrong in selling the tickets.Conradie further claimed that Fick had a personal vendetta against him and was bent on bringing him down as chief of the union.Fick resigned about three months ago after he refused to be moved from his position.He was initially asked to vacate the post for an alternative one, but instead opted to resign.šHe (Fick) came to provoke me at my office and I told him to get out.He was recording the whole conversation as I threatened that I would shoot him.He laid a case of assault and I also laid a case of trespassing as he came into my office without permission,š he said.Conradie claimed that Fick was the cause of all the “trouble”.Conradie said Fick wrote to the IRB accusing the NRU of several irregularities and financial mismanagement, which according him remain allegations.Meanwhile, Trip Travel co-owner, Piet du Plooy yesterday said he had requested tickets from the NRU, had paid for them in full but had still not received the tickets.He said there were Namibians interested in attending the World Cup, but that he was still waiting for the tickets, despite paying the union a sizeable amount.Du Plooy, who is also a commissioner of the Namibia Sports CommissionŽs board, said he could not disclose the amount that he paid for the tickets, but said that there were at least 25 – 30 people who were interested to watch the tournament which starts today.The Namibian rugby 15 will play their opening match against Ireland on Sunday in the absence of the executive, which had been with them throughout their preparations ahead of the World Cup.The root of the banning is the alleged irregular sale of World Cup tickets – the value of the tickets in question are said to be N$2,8 million.Namibian rugby boss Dirk Conradie yesterday denied that there were any irregularities in the sale of the tickets, despite the ban that the International Rugby Board (IRB) has clamped on him and his executive.According to Conradie, the union had paid over about N$2,8 million in proceeds from the tickets allocated to Namibia by the IRB.Conradie told The Namibian he would hold a press conference today to explain the the circumstances surrounding the sale of the World Cup tickets.He claimed that the IRB action stemmed from allegations levelled by former financial director of the NRU, Pieter Fick, informing the Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) about an alleged ticket scam, as part of the monies generated that were deposited in the Conradie and Damaseb Trust Account, a local law firm, in which the union’s president is a partner.Conradie denied that he had sold tickets at a 35 per cent profit to a certain South African company in contravention of IRB rules.He admitted that monies were paid into the Conradie and Damaseb Trust Account, but denied that it accumulated interest of about N$66 000 as reported in a local English weekly.According to the report, the RWCL’s Judicial Officer, Graeme Mew recommended that the the NRU executive be banned from the IRB VIP Programme, which is offered by the RWCL in the wake of the alleged ticket scandal.Conradie did not comment on their exclusion from the VIP Programme, but said that the NRU has done nothing wrong in selling the tickets.Conradie further claimed that Fick had a personal vendetta against him and was bent on bringing him down as chief of the union.Fick resigned about three months ago after he refused to be moved from his position.He was initially asked to vacate the post for an alternative one, but instead opted to resign.šHe (Fick) came to provoke me at my office and I told him to get out.He was recording the whole conversation as I threatened that I would shoot him.He laid a case of assault and I also laid a case of trespassing as he came into my office without permission,š he said.Conradie claimed that Fick was the cause of all the “trouble”.Conradie said Fick wrote to the IRB accusing the NRU of several irregularities and financial mismanagement, which according him remain allegations.Meanwhile, Trip Travel co-owner, Piet du Plooy yesterday said he had requested tickets from the NRU, had paid for them in full but had still not received the tickets.He said there were Namibians interested in attending the World Cup, but that he was still waiting for the tickets, despite paying the union a sizeable amount.Du Plooy, who is also a commissioner of the Namibia Sports CommissionŽs board, said he could not disclose the amount that he paid for the tickets, but said that there were at least 25 – 30 people who were interested to watch the tournament which starts today.