The Magners League will not see the addition of the two Italian teams next season after negotiations between the board of Celtic Rugby Ltd and the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) failed to reach agreement on the terms of their inclusion.
The move was first mooted in March last year and discussions have been ongoing ever since but the Celtic League today announced it was “disappointed that it has not proven possible to conclude a satisfactory agreement with the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR)”.
“Celtic Rugby engaged Deloitte to conduct a comprehensive “due diligence” process to satisfy the shareholders and existing Magners League clubs of the feasibility, financial and otherwise of this structural change to the Magners League and in particular to ensure there was no resulting net cost to the existing ten clubs,” a statement read this afternoon.
“Following an extensive process that involved consultations with FIR and its nominated clubs, the existing Magners League participants and Celtic Rugby, Deloitte provided a report to Celtic Rugby in December 2009, clarifying the various parameters that had been met and that would need to be met.
“Despite extensive discussions between Celtic Rugby and FIR in December and January it has not been possible to reach a satisfactory agreement by the deadline set of end January 2010.”
FIR president Giancarlo Dondi is believed to have rejected a Celtic League board demand for a €3 million warranty to offset the costs of having two Italian franchises in the league for a four-year trial.
Without Magners, the best Italian-based Italian players will not have top-level rugby next season. Hence, Dondi is now exploring the possibility of entering two Italian selections to play in the Heineken Cup, but that looks a long-shot at this stage as well.