Tel Aviv Heat threatens legal action against SARU

NEWS: The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has until Wednesday to clear up their decision regarding the Tel Aviv Heat and the Mzansi challenge the Israel Rugby Union (IRU) confirmed.

SARU revealed earlier this month, that they have ‘withdrawn’ an invitation to Tel Aviv Heat to play in the new tournament Mzansi Challenge.

The decision was met with loads of criticism and the issue has escalated resulting in ‘legal action’ taken by the South African Friends of Israel against the national body, @rugby365com reported

The South African Friends of Israel confirmed to @rugby365com last week that they have submitted an application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act for SARU to reveal which stakeholders were consulted in their decision-making process before the Heat was axed from the Mzansi Challenge.

On Tuesday, Tel Aviv Heat along with the Israel Rugby Union (IRU) officially joined the public fallout.

In a joint statement the IRU and the Tel Aviv Heat stated that SARU has Wednesday, February 22 to clear up its' decisions to uninvite the club from the Mzansi Challenge or they will have no choice but to take the matter to the high courts.

IRU and Tel Aviv argue that SARU's decision to rescind the invitation was based on, “representations from multiple stakeholders” and goes against SA Rugby's own mandate, as well as that of World Rugby which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, national or social origin, sex, politics, religion or creed.

IRU argue that there are criteria that prohibit incidents of this nature to take hold in the sport.

The statement revealed that IRU and Tel Aviv Heat have consulted both local and international lawyers and have since formally requested the relevant documentation needed in terms of disclosing the record of the decision taken by SARU.

The Israeli club are further contemplating high-court proceedings for damages and has given SARU until Wednesday to be reinstated.

“Our players, the bulk of which are South Africans of all races and religions, are now currently lacking earning opportunities,” said Tel Aviv Heat Director, of Rugby, Kevin Musikanth.

Pete Sickle CEO of Tel Aviv Heat further expressed the hope that SARU would comply by disclosing the relevant documentation and “proceed in the manner that is required by both the law and the spirit in which international sport is intended to be played”.

Commenting on Tel Aviv Heat's ultimatum to SARU, South African Friends of Israel (SAFI) stated that they hope SARU will comply based on the mechanisms detailed in the statement.”

SAFI added: “For now, we remain concerned by a number of reports that have surfaced over the past weekend, that have repeatedly indicated that Minister of Sports, Arts & Culture, Nathi Mthetwa, was also involved in unduly pressurising SARU President, Mark Alexander, into the decision he made to rescind the invite to an Israeli-based rugby team.

"We hope that SARU will investigate this claim fully, as such political interference, profiling and discrimination in South African sport should never be tolerated at the hands of an ANC public representative.

"We further note concerning reports that the SARU President was on the receiving end of threats in the lead-up to his announcement on the Mzanzi Challenge invite to the Tel Aviv Heat team in Israel. Initial reports indicated the alleged death threats may have originated from supporters of the anti-Israel lobby groups, which SAFI sincerely hopes SARU will investigate expeditiously with the relevant local authorities, in order to ensure Mark Alexander's safety.”

*READ THE FULL STATEMENT BELOW...

The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has until tomorrow (Wednesday, February 22) to respond to questions raised by the Israel Rugby Union (IRU) and the Tel Aviv Heat (TAH) regarding SARU’s decision to uninvite TAH from the Mzansi Challenge.

SARU indicated that the decision to rescind the invitation was based on, “representations from multiple stakeholders”. This goes against their own mandate, as well as that of World Rugby which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, national or social origin, sex, politics, religion or creed.

IRU argue that there are criteria that prohibit incidents of this nature to take hold in the sport. Based on this, IRU and TAH have consulted both local and international lawyers and has since formally requested the relevant documentation needed in terms of disclosing the record of the decision taken by SARU. TAH are further contemplating high-court proceedings for damages and given SARU until Wednesday, February 22  to be re-instated.

“Our players, the bulk of which are South Africans of all races and religions, are now currently lacking earning opportunities,” said TAH Director, of Rugby, Kevin Musikanth.

Pete Sickle CEO of Tel Aviv Heat further expressed the hope that SARU would comply by disclosing the relevant documentation and “proceed in the manner that is required by both the law and the spirit in which international sport is intended to be played”.