Falcons fear Cup scam in Portugal
July 28th, 2010 Posted in General, Industry News, Sale Sharks
Newcastle Falcons have announced the cancellation of this weekend’s Algarve Super Cup match against rivals Sale Sharks in Portugal.
The decision was been taken by both teams, due to reasons outside of the clubs’ control, with a Newcastle spokesman explaining the situation.
“Despite having received the necessary approval from both the English and Portuguese Rugby Football Unions, and from the stadium itself, ourselves and Sale were made guarantees by the promoter which have not been met,” he said.
“It is with great regret that we have been forced into making the joint decision along with Sale Sharks to cancel this game, especially with so many of our supporters having committed to travelling over.
“Those supporters will be contacted and refunded in full, but to protect our own interests and those of our fans and club partners, we have unfortunately had no alternative but to cancel the fixture.”
Sharks CEO Mick Hogan echoed the situation, with the north-west side saying that the warm-up game against Clermont Auvergne on August 6 will go ahead as planned.
However in a dramatic twist to the story, Falcons Chairman Dave Thompson has revealed that foul play could be at work regarding the duo’s pre-season friendly. He has stated in Tuesday’s Evening Chronicle that financial payments are still an unresolved issue.
“I was in the Algarve two weeks ago and the game wasn’t being advertised over there at all,” he explained.
“I came back feeling it was a little bit dubious.
“We had been told that Sale had been out to inspect everything and that it was all in order. But from what we can ascertain there had been no ticket sales.
“The stadium, the hotel and the air company all took bookings, but they had not received any money.
“We have been unable to make contact with the agent in the Algarve. He won’t return calls.
“So on that basis we both decided it was best by far to cancel the trip at this stage and avoid arriving to a total disaster.”
Article from Planet Rugby
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