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RFU rebels vow to fight on after attempt to remove Bill Sweeney is blocked

A grassroots rebellion has accused the Rugby Football Union of ­“postponing the inevitable” after the governing body rejected an attempt to force the removal of the chief executive, Bill Sweeney, amid the pay and bonuses scandal.

On another remarkable day at the RFU, a group of 141 members from across the country called for a special general meeting and a vote of no confidence in Sweeney, only for the union to declare the motion invalid on bureaucratic grounds.

In a further twist, the rebels then claimed the RFU’s basis for rejecting the motion was incorrect and they expect the union to comply with the call for an SGM in the coming days. The rebels – who later said their support had grown to 152 members – have demanded an SGM no later than 28 February and have said they are calling on the board of directors to “terminate [Sweeney’s] employment … as soon as practicably possible”.

The threshold to call for an SGM is 100 clubs, so the rebels were confident they would succeed in forcing a vote. But the coup appeared to have failed, at least temporarily, on the grounds that “it does not comply with the relevant requirements”…

Grassroots revolt triggers vote over futures of RFU chief executive and chairman

The rebellion in the community game has the backing of 187 members, the PA news agency understands, easily surpassing the 100 needed to initiate the SGM, which must now be called within 45 days.

All 12 of the Championship clubs and 12 of the 14 teams in National League One are among those taking part in the move to oust Sweeney and Ilube, but it is understood to be led by the Rugby Football Referees’ Union.

The RFRU is a national constituent body within the RFU which consists of 37 members.

Two motions will be tabled at the SGM – to dismiss Ilube as chairman, for which a two-thirds majority is needed, and a call for the board to sack Sweeney.

The move comes following an outcry over Sweeney’s £1.1million pay for the 2023-24 financial year, which comprises of an increased salary of £742,000 and bonus of £358,000.

Large swathes of the game are in uproar at the amount earned by Sweeney given the RFU reported an operating loss of £37.9m for the same period – the highest it has ever recorded.

In…

Bill Sweeney’s RFU fate to be decided after Six Nations following U-turn

Bill Sweeney’s fate as the Rugby Football Union’s chief executive will be decided shortly after the Six Nations following an embarrassing U-turn from the governing body which has now relented to a grassroots ­rebellion and agreed to a special general meeting.

Sweeney has two weeks to set a date for the SGM, which is expected to be held in either late March or early April, after the RFU confirmed that it is “validating the additional information” sent in a letter by the 152 members – a combination of clubs and constituent bodies – calling for the chief executive’s removal.

The rebels had called for the SGM to be held no later than 28 February but there must be a 45-day grace period and it will not take place before the Six Nations has concluded.

The RFU’s U-turn comes after ­Friday’s council meeting in which Sir Bill Beaumont was ratified as interim chair before issuing a call for unity in an open letter to all member clubs. The former World Rugby chair has taken over from Tom Ilube, who stood down shortly before Christmas, and will spend the leadup to the SGM to “debate and agree a united way forward”.

Ilube…