Tunnicliffe denies misconduct

Neil Tunnicliffe, the departed chief executive of the Rugby Football League, has denied speculation that he was sacked for misconduct. Tunnicliffe left suddenly on Tuesday after two years in the job, in what has been described by both parties as a resignation.

Yesterday, he countered suggestions that he was dismissed by the RFL's chairman, Sir Rodney Walker, because of events at the League's headquarters at Red Hall.

"That is certainly not true. There has been no incidence of misconduct that has been levelled against me," Tunnicliffe said. "The fact of the matter is that I had been intending to resign since February over a build-up of political matters and I resigned by mutual agreement with Sir Rodney on Tuesday."

The RFL's spokesman, John Huxley, said: "We can add nothing to the statement we made at the time."

David Howes, who was effectively No 2 at the League under David Oxley for over a decade, has emerged as a suitable successor, according to many in the game. Howes is currently managing director at Leeds. The RL board of directors will discuss how it should proceed at its meeting in Salford today.

The League also needs a new tournament director for the World Cup, which takes place in October and November.

The meeting will also decide the date of the hearing into the crowd trouble that accompanied Hull's Challenge Cup defeat by Leeds last month. The matter was supposed to be dealt with today, but the time taken to gather reports from all the parties means that it will now be resolved next week, or possibly as late as 18 April.

The amateur game has also been having its disciplinary problems, with the National Conference League match between West Hull and Askam on Saturday the second in a week to be abandoned because of fighting.

The BNFL National Cup tie between Oldham St Annes and Lock Lane was also called off with a few minutes to play and West Hull's involvement in a second abandoned match has an inevitable resonance, given the troubles of their professional neighbours. The chief executive of the British Amateur Rugby League Association, Ian Cooper, said: "We don't see it as evidence of a general decline in behaviour. We are a well-disciplined sport."

The incidents would be dealt with, he said, by the NCL and Barla, which gave an indication of how tough it can be this week by banning a Leigh Miners Rangers player, Peter Sharp, for life for assaulting a referee.

Barla is seeking a mandate from its members at an assembly at Huddersfield on Sunday for merging its administration with those of the Rugby Football League and Super League at a new headquarters in Leeds. The separate governing bodies would continue to enjoy autonomy.

Gigg Lane, Bury - the football ground shared since 1992 by Swinton - is to be the venue for the competition's Grand Final on 29 July.

"We've offered Gigg Lane as a venue for several of rugby league's showpiece matches, but this is the first time we've been lucky," Swinton's chief executive, Tony Barrow, said. "It's a feather in the cap of the stadium and both clubs who play here."

The ground will have a capacity of around 12,000 for the match, which will also be covered live on television.