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2 months later and Samoa is STILL on that rugby drama

Merita Huch does great job summing up all the drama surrounding Manu Samoa's RWC bid in 2011... sadly, we're not the only Pacific island with management / power / money / corruption issues when it comes to our sport.

Sport: Rugby, controversial as ever in Samoa

While everyone’s moved on after the World Cup Campaign, the Samoans are still at it with minute details of the campaign at the New Zealand World Cup still being played out in the media.

It all started after Samoa lost to Wales, which many thought Samoa should have won. When Samoa bowed out of the World Cup, attention was directed at Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu and his comments posted on the social network Twitter, where he criticised the way Welsh referee Nigel Owens and the International Rugby Board (IRB) for having a referee whose national team was also trying to get into the quarterfinals.

Fuimaono-Sapolu’s criticisms were backed by the Samoan Rugby Union Chairman, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi.

As a result of the Twitter posting, Fuimaono-Sapolu appeared before the IRB Tribunal over comments he made about the Welsh referee and IRB. He called the referee racist and biased in the way he handled the Samoan/South African match.

He was ordered to do community work for the Samoa Rugby Union (SRU) through the country’s High Performance Unit and to attend refereeing workshops to gain a better understanding of the work referees do. He also ordered to stay away from twitting comments against the IRB and its officials.

He’s now on a two-year probation.

Full Story: Island Business

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