The London Irish will be banned from the Gallagher Premier League shortly. 125 years of existence, were consigned to oblivion after the Rugby Football Union confirmed the club's suspension from all leagues for failing to provide proof of funds and ownership for the following season.
This step brings the darkest season yet for professional rugby club in England, which has already seen the Wasps and Worcester Warriors go under, and raises further doubts about the league's financial viability.
The Telegraph Sport reported on Tuesday that the club missed a 4:00 pm deadline to pay back wages for May and that there was no hope of an 11-hour takeover by an American consortium, making the suspension inevitable.
The Premier Rugby League now has no choice but to accelerate plans to create a 10-team league for next season, just two years after the RFU board agreed to an expansion to 14 teams.
In the meantime, the players now face a struggle to find new clubs, which will be far from easy given that most of their rivals in the Premier League and the top 14 in France have already committed funds for next season or are already at their peak. appropriate salary caps.
England's rising star Henry Arundell is set to negotiate with Bath later this week, while the Scottish Rugby Union are known to be interested in signing Ben White. Tom Pearson is expected to join the Northampton Saints, while Will Joseph, Ollie Hoskins and Ben Loader are expected to negotiate with the Saracens.
Henry Arundell may find a new home at Rec Credit: Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Mick Crossan, owner of the London Irish since 2013, hoped to avert the outcome by selling the club to a private equity consortium led by established California lawyer Alfred «Chip» Sloan after he racked up more than £30m in debt.
The club also recently received a winding up petition from HMRC due to an unpaid tax bill.
However, despite repeated assurances by the consortium over the past two months that the deal remains in place, the RFU said he had no choice but to suspend the club after the consortium ignored repeated requests for proof of funds and ownership.
“This is very sad news for everyone who is part of the London Irish community and for all the players, fans, staff and volunteers to whom this club means so much,” said RFU Chief Executive Bill Sweeney.
Despite the fact that we have requested this evidence over the past six months and have received repeated assurances that we will receive proof of ownership and funds; it did not materialize.
“In the absence of transparent evidence of reliable long-term funding and due to the obligation to look after everyone involved in the club, the sad decision was made to remove the club from participation in the RFU leagues.”
The club's players and staff are said to have felt a mixture of anger and devastation after the RFU Financial Viability Group granted an extension last week because Crossan said he would pay two weeks' salary to give the takeover a chance to go through. to no avail.
Last month, Crossan was forced to intervene to cover £500,000 of payroll costs for April when he was six days late after a US consortium failed to was able to complete the takeover for a variety of reasons.
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The RFU, along with Premiership Rugby and the players' union RPA, have set up a relief fund believed to be worth several hundred thousand pounds to support the neediest players and staff.
Statement by RPA Secretary General @christianday following today's London Irish announcement#ForOurPlayers pic.twitter.com/wzFWdTSS4i
— RPA (@theRPA) June 6, 2023
“Collectively we have created a fund to help players and staff in need and we will work closely with the London Irish to confirm what the future of rugby looks like at the club. Unfortunately, this will not happen in any league next season.”
The RFU will also take over the London Irish Academy while it is hoped that the London Irish amateur club The Wild Geese, which compete in League 2 Thames, will still be able to play at the Hazelwood Club stadium.
RFU and Premiership Rugby now face the pressing task of proving they are capable of getting the game out of this financial mess in the week that the UK government has seen fit to appoint two independent advisers to oversee negotiations on a new professional gaming deal next year.
Notably, Tom Ilube, RFU chairman, has suggested that the governing board will have to rethink their investment in professional rugby.
“We are currently contributing £25m to the Premier League Every year. but cannot continue to invest in failed business models. This means making tough investment decisions,” Ilube said.
Simon Massey-Taylor, chief executive of Prem Rugby, said the league had already made “significant progress” to ensure “prosperity in the upcoming season” and left door open for the return of the London Irish in the future. Wasps have already received a potential lifeline to return as a franchise in a restructured championship.
“We are committed to working with all stakeholders to create a professional rugby system that the London Irish can re-enter in the right place. time,” he said.
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