Rugby World Cup 2023: Spain disqualified for fielding ineligible player, Romania qualify in Pool B

"An independent judicial committee considering a potential breach of Regulation 8 (eligibility for a national team) has determined that Spain fielded an ineligible player (player of South African origin Gavin Van den Berg) during two Rugby World Cup 2023 qualification matches and has imposed a 10-point deduction and a financial sanction," announced World Rugby on 28/04/2022.

"Subject to Spain's right of appeal, the 10-point deduction applied to the Rugby World Cup 2023 qualification table means that Romania will qualify as Europe 2 into Pool B replacing Spain, and Portugal will replace Romania in the final qualification tournament in November 2022 (see below)," continued the body.

“The committee imposed the fixed penalty of £25,000 (€29,687) and noted that a suspended penalty of £50,000 (€59,374) relating to a previous breach of eligibility during Cup qualifying Rugby World Cup 2019 would be payable," added World Rugby. In 2019, the Spanish team had already played ineligible players and had been disqualified from the World Cup in Japan.

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