Spain disqualified from 2023 Rugby World Cup for unexpected reason

A big blow for Spanish Rugby fans. On Thursday, April 28, World Rugby, the international organization for the sport of oval ball, announced that the Spanish national team has been disqualified from the next World Cup. The competition will be held in France from September 8 to October 28, 2023.

While normally qualifying for the tournament, Spain found themselves in the limelight of the Romanian Rugby Federation, reportedly over eligibility concerns over a South African-born player named Gavin Van der Berg. rugby patch. According to the investigation carried out by World Rugby since 28 March, his passport was allegedly falsified, while the latter aligned in the two qualifying matches within the “XV del León”. In rugby, a player may qualify for national selection if he or she observes a residence period of at least three years in the respective country. Gavin Van der Berg, who came to Spain in 2018, did not comply with this rule, staying for a certain period of time in his country of origin, South Africa, during the Covid-19 epidemic.

The Spanish Rugby Federation took note of this decision in a statement:While we wait for World Rugby to make the decision official, this would mean disqualification from the 2023 World Cup in France, a competition in which Lion XV directly qualified as runner-up in the 2021-2022 European Rugby Championships.“The Spaniards should not stop here and may appeal this decision:”As this very severe sanction comes as a result of the alleged falsification of the said player’s passport, the Spanish Rugby Federation (FER) is continuing the extraordinary disciplinary procedure initiated at the time and will shortly hold a press conference to present all the clarifications. which are mandatory.The Spanish Rugby Federation was also fined £25,000.

Due to Spain’s exclusion, doubtful Romania should qualify for the 2023 World Cup.

Benoit Lesueur