The South African Rugby Union (Saru) appear paralysed by indecision over their under-fire chief executive Jurie Roux. Saru's executive council was supposed to discuss a way forward in the wake of charges against Roux by Stellenbosch University, his former employer. They accuse him of making "unauthorised" payments to the tune of R35-million to Maties rugby club while he was a senior director of finance at the university and chairman of the club.story_article_left1It is alleged Roux "manipulated" the system by using software which leaves no paper trail of "unauthorised" transactions.Perhaps in part due to the fact that the alleged indiscretions happened before he joined Saru, opinion among administrators appears divided on what to do with Roux.One Saru official the Sunday Times spoke to on condition of anonymity said they are damned if they do and damned if they don't take action against Roux. "As an organisation Saru has to be careful. Even if we were to suspend him with pay pending an investigation he could later have grounds for litigation. On the other hand there is the sentiment that we should act. This is very difficult."Last week Saru president Oregan Hoskins tried to distance the organisation from the controversy when he refuted suggestions that they were aware of an inquiry into Roux's employment at the university before they appointed him.Despite the fact that KPMG finalised its initial report in August 2013, Saru renewed Roux's contract a year later, shortly after the allegations against him were published.Saru announced in August 2014 that they would extend Roux's contract which was supposed to expire in September 2015, by five years. This, some officials are suggesting, was done with indecent haste.story_article_right2After Roux's contract was renewed, Hoskins was full of praise for the chief executive and added that the executive had applied its mind to allegations in newspapers relating to activities at Stellenbosch during the time of Roux's employment there."We were made aware of certain allegations and we have interrogated them," he said. "We are satisfied with the explanations that Jurie Roux has given to us. It is gratifying that, despite all the publicity, the 14 member unions of Saru voted unanimously to approve Jurie's reappointment."When the allegations first surfaced Saru seemed reluctant to act, but they were drawn into the open on the topic after Netwerk24 recently published the provisional report into the case by audit firm KPMG.Apart from highlighting the unauthorised payments, the report stated Roux had a clear conflict of interest while holding a job at the university and issuing bursaries to players affiliated to a sports agency of which he was a director.A Stellenbosch University spokesman said he could not comment as the matter was sub judice.Saru too has opted not to comment...