Catalans Dragons are reportedly refusing to pay a deposit to play in the Challenge Cup this year, meaning the competition could be without its current holders, according to L’Indépendant.
The Dragons are understood to have followed Toulouse and Toronto Wolfpack’s example and questioned why they should pay the £495K equivalent fee required of non-English clubs.
The Rugby Football League’s reasoning for the fee is due to the loss of revenue as a result of any of the overseas teams’ progression in the competition. Catalans won the Cup last year in front of a crowd of just 50,672.

How embarrassing. Maybe London and Salford will follow the trend.

Good. So they should bloody refuse as well. It’s absolutely embarassing by the inept RFL.

If they can’t afford Wembley; don’t play there. To charge clubs such at Catalans, Toulouse and Toronto £700,000 to play in the Challenge Cup is completely incomprehensible.

Yet another reason why the RFL are completely and utterly destroying RL in Europe. The sooner they’re gone, the better IMHO.

SL clubs should all support Catalans, Toronto and Toulouse by refusing to participate. What if Salford, Huddersfield, Wakefield were to make the final and it not sell out? Would the RFL demand down payment from them in 2021?

Wembley not selling out is not the fault of the clubs; it’s the fault of the clueless at marketing and advertising RFL.

RFL are on a downward spiral and are dragging the whole game with them. Honestly think we would be better jumping ship and going in with the RFU. Not a merged code just get them to run the game. Reckon they could sell out the CC. Have to be played at Twickengam like.

Scandalous.
You can't market the sport you govern well enough to be able to fill Wembley, so you just make foreign clubs pay extortionate fees to enter the comp instead

Catalans plan to parade the Challenge Cup at the Nou Camp when they play Wigan .

The Catalonians must wonder why the current holders of the cup will not be defending it . Should they not pay the fee required by the RFL .

Another classic own goal by the sport, it wouldn't be a surprise if Toronto or Catalan sued The RFL for effectively precluding them from one of the oldest cup competition in the game and they ought to win.

We seem happy to take the "benefits" of having overseas clubs in "our" competition but we dont want any of the risk.

The situation would be equally difficult if two Championship clubs appeared in the Cup Final, therefore, perhaps they should all have to pay the levy as well ? (I'm not serious about them paying but, this demonstrates just how discriminatory the sport is being towards certain clubs).

Surely the answer is to have the semi finals and final far enough apart to allow the game to market one of only two major finals and get wembley sold out.

If not, we mat as well stage the game in a venue to match the "demand", maybe Doncaster or Leigh


This is wrong and humiliating

If you’d have said this a few years ago I’d be throwing a barrage of insults at you and the RFU for daring to suggest getting in bed with the ‘enemy’.

Now? I’m open to the suggestion. They’ve turned what is a bloody mind numbing sport into one of the most popular in the UK and Europe (arguably).

Then again I’d trust my local bin man to run the RFL better than Rimmer and Barwick.

I know its unlikely but do Normanton Knights, Wigan St pats etc get told the same if the get to Wembley

I agree with most of what you say btw, one simple question what was Wigan's average attendance last season.

I have been to Wembley 28times over the years for the challenge cup or England games but what they are doing now is a bloody disgrace every since they moved it from may it has had problems for god sake move it back to how it used to be

As much as I don't like expansion clubs, this is pathetic by the RFL.
If any club is allowed to play in any of our Division's, then they should be allowed to participate in the Challenge Cup, without any clauses/demands. Double standards by the RFL, and highly embarrassing.

This is ridiculous from the RFL. Maybe they should just choose the two clubs with most fans and put them straight into the final 4.947265625:5