RUGBY UNION: THE PRESIDENT of the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) has expressed his anger and frustration following the failure on Thursday of Celtic Rugby Ltd and FIR to reach agreement on the terms of the inclusion of two Italian teams in the Magners League on a four-year trial.

In a communiqué, Giancarlo Dondi said: “For months now we have been negotiating this on certain basic premises. But when we met this month, they asked us for a contribution of €3 million as an entrance fee which would serve to offset the extra travel costs of those non-Italian clubs. This was simply unacceptable.

“It really makes me angry that these requirements have only emerged now. At this point, we’ve broken off all negotiations. If we had known this, we wouldn’t have wasted so much time.”

Celtic Rugby claim the request of a €3 million “warranty” from Italy was made on the recommendations of a “due diligence” assessment carried out by Deloitte to satisfy shareholders and existing Magners League clubs of the financial feasibility of the proposed changes to the tournament.

Celtic Rugby also claim that the Deloitte report was provided to them only in December, hence their January request of the €3 million warranty from Italy.

For the Italian rugby movement, this exclusion from the Magners League represents a major blow, since most Italian rugby professionals believe that Italian clubs badly need further international competition and exposure to improve the level of the domestic game.

To that end, and not without a deal of in-fighting, controversy and even legal actions, the Italian federation had engaged in a “fusion” process which nominated teams based on the Treviso and Viadana clubs for the Magners League, but which also led to senior clubs such as Calvisano and Capitolina relegating themselves to a lower league.

On a day of bad news for Italian rugby, however, all was not lost. Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno yesterday announced his approval of a major rebuilding project for the Stadio Flaminio, the traditional venue for Italy’s Six Nations home games.

If all goes well, said the mayor, work on the Flamino will begin this summer, with the stadium’s capacity being increased from 24,000 to 42,000 in time for the 2012 season. “Six Nations rugby is absolutely indispensable for Rome,” Alemanno added.