WORLD RUGBY SAYS the Scottish Rugby Union has agreed to pay a fine of €81,700 [£70,000] for comments made during the recent Rugby World Cup.
A statement from World Rugby today says the SRU has also “expressed its regret” after being ordered it to pay the fine following the comments made by SRU CEO Mark Dodson at the World Cup in Japan.
Scotland’s final Pool A clash with hosts Japan had been in danger of being cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis, which claimed the lives of 80 people.
The SRU had been livid at the prospect of Scotland exiting the World Cup at the pool stages without having a chance to play Japan, with Dodson going as far as to threaten legal action against World Rugby if the game was cancelled.
In the end, a mammoth clean-up effort from tournament organisers ensured the game went ahead, with Japan beating the Scots 28-21 to book their place in the quarter-finals.
However, World Rugby brought a charge against the SRU after the World Cup for its behaviour before the Japan fixture, with an independent disputes committee ruling that the “comments attributed to Mark Dodson amounted to misconduct and brought the game into disrepute.”
As a result, the SRU was formally reprimanded, ordered to write “a meaningful apology” to World Rugby, and fined €81,700 [£70,000].
Today, World Rugby said that the SRU will pay up and would not be challenging the global governing body any further.
“World Rugby can confirm that the Scottish Rugby Union has expressed its regret and has confirmed it will not challenge World Rugby further on this matter,” reads a World Rugby statement.
“The Scottish Rugby Union has agreed to pay a donation of £70,000 to World Rugby and the matter is now closed. There will be no further comment from either party.”
