The Spanish Federation, which announced the sanction itself on Thursday, has fifteen days to appeal, otherwise its team will not participate in the second World Cup in its history.
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Hard blow for the XV of Spain. The Iberians will not finally go to the World Cup in France due to the non-eligibility of their player Gavin Van den Berg, lined up twice in river victories. A penalty of five points per game has been retained by World Rugby, announced the Spanish rugby federation, Thursday, April 28. It was confirmed a few hours later by the international body in a press release. Spain was also fined 25,000 pounds for this breach, and has a period of fifteen days to appeal.
#FERugby | Comunicado oficial: World Rugby decides that Van den Berg is not eligible for jugar con España. https://t.co/QzYQ3yfhc4
— Spain Rugby (@ferugby) April 28, 2022
The Spanish rugby players had nevertheless made the front page of the national press, a fact rare enough to be underlined, after their victory in March against Portugal. With only one participation on the clock in 1999, the players of Santiago Santos had achieved the feat of qualifying thanks to a second place in the Rugby Europe Championship, behind Georgia and ahead of Romania.
It was the Romanians who had complained about the presence of Van den Berg in the team. Of South African origin, the player did not meet all the criteria for a change of sporting nationality, having not resided three years in Spain due to his return to South Africa during the pandemic.
A breach of the rules on the part of the Spanish federation which should benefit Romania, which therefore finds itself second and directly qualified for the 2023 World Cup in France. Portugal, which recovers third place, will play a repechage tournament next November to try to participate in the second World Cup in its history, after 2007.