AfriForum‚ Solidarity lodge complaint against racial quotas with World Rugby

Afrikaner civil rights movement AfriForum and trade union Solidarity have lodged an official complaint against racial quotas and political interference in South African rugby with World Rugby at its headquarters in Dublin‚ Ireland.

The two organisations said on Saturday that this was the first step in their international campaign against racial quotas.

They plan in the next two weeks to lodge similar complaints with the International Cricket Council‚ the International Netball Federation‚ the International Olympic Committee and the International Association of Athletics Federations.

AfriForum spokesman Henk Maree said that AfriForum was forced to approach Word Rugby as the civil rights watchdog’s efforts to convince SA Rugby to drop racial quotas had fallen on deaf ears.

“AfriForum is realistic about the fact that the lodging of the complaint is not a quick fix‚ but it serves as a strong start to an ongoing process to accomplish international opposition to racial quotas‚” he said.

Maree charged that interference by South African politicians in sport was “merely a tactic to gain cheap exposure in promoting their own agendas”.

“The only way in which politicians can make a sustainable contribution to sport is to focus on the responsible spending of funds to develop the talents of young athletes – regardless of their race‚” he asserted.

He said World Rugby’s attention was drawn to the way in which the South African government interferes politically with South African rugby’s activities‚ as well as to the fact that race plays a decisive role in team selection.

Political interference and racial discrimination are expressly forbidden by World Rugby’s rules and regulations‚ he pointed out.

- TimesLIVE