Keighley Cougars chief Fawcett close to forcing EGM

The Lawkholme Lane club are angry that Kingstone Press Championship relegation rivals Batley Bulldogs were not docked points for fielding an ineligible player during a victory over Sheffield Eagles in July.

The points deduction was initially implemented but later overturned on appeal – a decision which sent Cougars down to Championship One.

The Cougars chairman says that he now has evidence that both Batley Bulldogs and Doncaster, who were also docked points, knew they were guilty of breaking rules over ineligible players before they met the initial disciplinary panel.

Fawcett, who has leading sports lawyer Richard Cramer in his corner and has now contacted all of the Super League and Championship clubs to try and force an EGM, said: "I only need ten per cent of Super League clubs and ten per cent of Championship clubs, plus BARLA, to agree to an EGM and one has to be held.

"I need two Super League clubs to back me, and I already have the approval of one top Super League club, and I need three Championships clubs and I already have four.

"I am confident of getting BARLA and one more Super League club to agree. If the RFL don't agree to call an egm, then the members clubs can call for one because, let's not forget, it is the member clubs who own the RFL, not the RFL board."

Last Wednesday night, Fawcett finally received from the RFL the reasons for the decisions made by their disciplinary and appeals panel.

He said: "The minutes were as expected, with a couple of surprising details which only strengthened our legal case.

"They (Batley and Doncaster) were guilty over Jacob Fairbank and Ben Crooks respectively, and they knew they were guilty before they went into the disciplinary panel, so the three-point deduction was correct.

"They talked about previous instances where the penalties were not applied, but that's like driving in the fast lane of a motorway and getting done for speeding, and then saying that there were eight cars in front of you that were also speeding. The judge would still find you guilty.

"The appeals panel have been working on false reasonings."

Fawcett, who also has the betterment of the sport in general in mind, has proposed five resolutions to be discussed at the egm, which must be held within 28 days of the requisite club and BARLA backing being obtained.

The resolutions are: * Request members to record a vote of no confidence in the compliance of the operational rules.

*A seven-member working party is to be formed to review the governance of the game and propose recommended changes to a subsequent meeting of the members.

* Members to consider prohibiting the RFL Board from spending monies in defending a legal action taken by member clubs against the RFL unless the expenditure is expressly sanctioned by a majority of members.

* Members to vote to overturn the decision of the appeals panel that returned the points to Doncaster and Batley * The members to require the board to come forward with detailed proposals of how the problem of Sheffield and Keighley can be solved. The members to vote on the best solution to solve this issue."

Fawcett said: "The RFL could be spending money to protect their own interests, rather than for the betterment of the sport.

"Legal action against the RFL is very rare. In fact, the last time it occurred was in 1995 by us when we were refused admittance to Super League."

Sheffield Eagles, who would have finished second if the points deduction had been implemented and would have therefore had a better draw in the play-offs and more prize-money, are taking legal measures alongside Keighley.

Fawcett admitted that another resolution has been sent in by a member club regarding a vote of no confidence in the RFL Board, and he also claimed that the RFL refused to accept the 2,000-strong online petition from the Cougars.

He explained: "Instead it was accepted by the All Party Parliamentary Committee for Rugby League."