The issue over the closure of the HFC Bank Stadium continues, with the Fiji Sports Council confirming that no booking was done by the Fiji Secondary Schools Rugby Union for the Vodafone Super Deans final for August 23.
There has been much talk about the state of the ground which prompted the Sports Council to close the national stadium for maintenance.
This affected the FSSRU’s initial plan of holding the Deans final at the venue on August 23, forcing them to seek for alternative options.
On Tuesday night, the FSSRU told Times Sport that they had done the booking of the HFC Bank Stadium from last year.
However, Fiji Sports Council acting chief executive Gilbert Vakalalabure said otherwise.
“The FSSRU has not even come to us to talk about this. They haven’t booked.
“The FSSRU has to come to us to the Sports Council. They have not come to me or any of our booking team to discuss the booking,” he said.
Vakalalabure also stated that this issue is similar to the double-booking incident by the Fiji Football Association and the Fiji Rugby Union earlier this year when both organisations claimed they had booked for the grounds but neither had paid for the 50% booking fee required under the Sports Council policy.
The FSC acting CEO added that they acted on their own jurisdiction to close the stadium.
“The decision to close the stadium was ours, the Prime Minister was only showing his concerns.”
This comment came after Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka released a statement stating that he did not issue any directive for the closure of the grounds as he does not have the legal authority.
