By Alyssa McMurtry
OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – The president of the Spanish Rugby Federation, Alfonso Feijoo, announced on Friday that he was quitting amid a scandal that got Spain kicked out of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
On Thursday, an independent panel appointed by World Rugby found that the South African-born player Gavin van den Berg played with the Spanish team despite not qualifying due to residency restrictions.
To make matters worse, a copy of the player’s passport was allegedly altered to make it look like he met the residency requirements.
As a result, Spain was fined £25,000 ($31,370) and lost five points for each of the two matches van den Berg played.
That got Spain knocked out from the 2023 World Cup, and means Romania will qualify.
This is the second World Cup in a row that Spain has been disqualified for the same offense of using an ineligible player.
“I’m leaving without being guilty. Yes, I was responsible, but I’m not to blame,” said Feijoo in his resignation speech. “I never would have thought that someone could falsify an official document in rugby.”
He explained how van den Berg sent a photocopy of his old passport to prove his residency in Spain to World Rugby. It showed he was only outside of Spain for 58 days in 2019 – just two days short of the allowed 60-day limit.
However, Romania lodged a complaint, sharing a photo of the player at a wedding in South Africa three weeks before the photocopied passport said he arrived.
Soon after, he said, three members of the Alcobendas rugby team admitted to having falsified the document. After that, the Spanish Rugby Federation told World Rugby about what happened but said van den Berg ended up staying in South Africa longer than planned due to his father’s health conditions.
Spain’s rugby body will appeal the ruling.
“The sanction does not correspond to the offense, it is totally disproportionate,” said Feijoo. “We will exhaust all avenues trying to get back into the World Cup.”