08-30-2009, 05:18 PM
|
#1 (permalink)
|
|
Super Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 108
|
Harlequins' Charles Jillings resigns, bagging Dean Richards into the bargain
Source: Harlequins' chairman Charles Jillings resigns, bagging Dean Richards into the bargain | Sport | The Guardian
Quote:
Rugby union's Bloodgate affair claimed another victim tonight when Charles Jillings resigned as the chairman of Harlequins, blaming Dean Richards for the blood capsule scandal and insisting that he had not attempted to bribe Tom Williams in return for the player's silence.
Jillings, who will continue as joint owner of Quins, broke his silence after a week of turmoil at the London club following the publication of the written evidence Williams supplied to a disciplinary hearing in Glasgow last week. The wing had appealed against a one-year ban for his part in the fake blood substitution against Leinster last April, when he bit on a capsule to simulate a mouth wound.
Richards resigned as the club's director of rugby this month before being banned for three years after admitting ordering the use of fake blood. "Harlequins acknowledge that we failed to control Dean Richards," said Jillings. "I trusted Dean. As a result of the board's failure to exercise control, the club cheated. The escalation of these issues in the public domain needs, I believe, a clear response. In this context I have decided to resign as chairman and director. Ultimately this happened under my watch and the failure to control must fall at my door."
Jillings said he is concerned about the damaging impact of Williams's witness statement and that the first he knew of the scam was a week after Quins had been fined and Williams banned by a disciplinary panel last month. "When I returned from holiday on 3 August, I was faced with the full extent of the devastating revelation that we had cheated and lied in our statements. I was shocked. The situation was very complicated and raised a number of moral dilemmas for everybody involved. I advised the board that we would not appeal. I sought a solution, not a cover-up, and within this framework I met with Tom Williams. I apologised unreservedly and sincerely for the position he had found himself in. I recognised his career had been disrupted because of the club's failure to control. An offer was made for damage concerned and was not a bribe or threat to Tom Williams."
Jillings said Williams responded with a written proposal, through his lawyer, not to appeal. "In exchange, he was seeking a four-year contract at substantially higher levels plus an exorbitant lump sum. This I found shocking. At no time did I ask him to lie or drop his appeal. I have at all times tried to steer a path that was fair to the individuals concerned whilst acknowledging the club's failings in this matter. As chairman, I am ultimately responsible for all decisions and I apologise unreservedly to all our stakeholders for inadvertently compounding the issues. I will continue to be a supportive investor."
|
|
|
|
Harlequins' Charles Jillings resigns, bagging Dean Richards into the bargain
