The Fiji National Rugby League warns players of pos­sible disciplinary actions if they continue to blame them for the delay in Rugby League World Cup (RLWC) payment.

FNRL chief executive officer Ti­moci Naleba said they had clearly stated where they stood on the is­sue.

“Players do not own the FNRL,”Naleba said.

“They came at their own choice to play for the Vodafone Fijian Bati during the 2017RLWC.

“If the players chose to boycott the Vodafone Fiji Bati’s international games then they could do so.

“It will not affect the FNRL be­cause we have made our position very clear on the issue,”Naleba said.

“FNRL is not responsible for the processes of the pay-out.”

Naleba said it was the players who demanded that FNRL should not be involved with anything regarding RLWC payment.

“Not a single cent from the RLWC is here with us. All those money are with the NRL and the RLWC,” he said.

However, Naleba was not im­pressed with the unfair publicity by the players when it was them who chose the current process pathway for their payout.

“It was agreed the NRL make the disbursement and not the FNRL because that was what the players demanded.”

Meanwhile, the Rugby League International Federation regional development manager Tas Baitieri earlier stated that the players would be paid in a couple of weeks.

“They have not been paid because it is not a simple exercise to distrib­ute the prize-money that everybody wants because there are obviously regulations that are in place for eve­rybody to be aware of and we are trying to work through those issues now,” Baitieri said.

Edited by Osea Bola

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