• Foreign refs unlikely for knockouts? 

A much-sought-after international rugby sevens referee from Hong Kong, Crag Chan, is scheduled to control the winner takes all grand finale of the Cup segment of Maliban Inter-Club League Rugby Tournament between CR and FC and Kandy SC at Longden Place under floodlights on Saturday (21).

Currently a Performance Referee for the Hong Kong China Rugby (HKCR), Chan, was also the first Chinese referee to officiate on the Men’s World Rugby Sevens Series four years ago.

Chan was also one of 23 match officials selected by World Rugby (WR) to officiate the rugby sevens tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he had primarily ‘blown’ Women’s matches.

For the ongoing 2025/26 international season, Chan continues to be a member of the Men’s Challenger Series referee panel.

Craig Chan is also slated to handle the Plate final between Air Force SC and Police SC at Ratmalana on Friday (20).

The Chinese national is set to round off the recent line up of overseas referees hired by Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) in consultation with the sport’s continental governing body Asia Rugby (AR).

This had been done to control the so-called high stakes matches involving the top four clubs: CR and FC, Kandy SC, Havelocks SC and CH and FC.

SLR had announced they were seeking the services of foreign referees as an immediate interim measure to ensure neutrality, consistency and fairness during the most decisive phase of the competition.

Among those who had preceded Craig Chan, in ‘blowing’ the Cup segment fixtures were Aymen Jrill of Saudi Arabia, Meitetsu Shimizu of Japan and James Fairbourne of Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, The Daily Morning Sports, reliably learns that SLR has shelved plans to hire foreign referees to officiate at the upcoming Clifford Cup Knockout tournament due to want for funds.

An informed source revealed that insufficient funds with the domestic controlling body would be an obstacle to seek the services of foreign referees for the season-ending club competition.

The hiring of overseas-based referees is said to be part of SLR’s plan to curb perceived bias and inferior quality refereeing by local officials while reducing the pressure on the local referee pool.

The game’s local ruling body has also announced its intention to implement a broader National Referee Development Plan, which also includes the formation of an Elite Referee Panel.