Minister of Sports Sunil Kumara Gamage has announced that disciplinary action will be taken against the Sri Lanka Rugby Federation after the national team was unable to obtain visas for their scheduled Asian Rugby Championship clash against South Korea, leading to the cancellation of the match last week.
Speaking to reporters, the Minister stressed that the responsibility for securing visas and tickets lies entirely with the respective sports federation, not the Ministry.
He noted that federations cannot wait until the last minute to request visas, calling the incident a clear case of negligence.
“The Sports Ministry does not intervene in visa or ticket processes. If funding is provided, we cover expenses, but team selection and visa arrangements are solely the federation’s responsibility. The Federation cannot request for a visa on Monday if the team is to travel on Wednesday. This is the Federation’s negligence. This is not a government issue, it is an issue of the Federation or Association. We will take disciplinary action, as we have done before,” Gamage said.
The Minister added that such lapses cannot be allowed to continue, warning that federations often attempt to shift blame onto the Ministry when failures occur.
He reiterated that the Rugby Federation must be held accountable for the cancellation, with the incident having drawn attention in Parliament as well. (Newswire)
