THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS
DAVID FERGUSON CHIEF RUGBY WRITER
THE FIRST signs of tension have appeared between the Scottish Rugby Union and Edinburgh's new owners, as legal action was threatened over an escalating dispute.

The Scotsman understands that the SRU were the major beneficiary from the money spent in Murrayfield's president's suite - Edinburgh's popular 'clubhouse bar' - at Sunday's Heineken Cup match with Leinster. The game attracted the team's biggest European crowd ever, largely through improved results and increased marketing and advertising, and Edinburgh believe they own the bar takings.

The Carruthers brothers, Bob and Alex, agreed a financial package to take over running Edinburgh in July just as the SRU was poised to scrap one of the three teams to save money. The deal proved lucrative enough for the union to retain both the Borders and Glasgow. However, the new owners believed matchday bar takings would be one of their major sources of revenue.

In a further twist yesterday, it emerged that the SRU have informed Edinburgh that the bar is not available tonight for the Magners League match with Cardiff, due to another booking, and supporters have been asked to use an alternative suite at Murrayfield.

Edinburgh issued a statement yesterday confirming that legal action is being considered, but allaying supporters' concerns that the union had closed the president's suite as part of the ongoing dispute.

An Edinburgh spokesman stated: "We are 100 per cent satisfied that the decision to close the President's Suite for the Cardiff match is entirely unrelated to the matters currently in dispute between the SRU plc and Edinburgh Rugby Ltd.

"We cannot deny that ownership of the bar revenues from match days is one of a number of issues in dispute, but we remain confident that those issues between the two parties can still be worked out without recourse to legal action.

"Clearly, the closure of the president's suite on a match day is a major inconvenience for our fans. The bar facility is the hub of the social life of a rugby club and makes a valuable contribution in financial terms to any club. It's ironic that we have just unveiled the new Edinburgh Rugby promotional film, which underlines the importance of the President's Suite to the life of the club."

Supporters will still be accommodated in the North Stand tonight, however, with the SRU allowing Edinburgh use of the smaller Rowan Suite before and after the match. However, more worrying is the fact that this is merely one of several issues with which Edinburgh remain at loggerheads with the union. Another is understood to be the release of Edinburgh's leading players to national squads.

The spokesman added: "On Monday a mechanism and a timetable to resolve the key areas of dispute with the SRU plc was agreed. Unfortunately, the SRU plc has been unable to meet that timetable. Edinburgh Rugby plc is currently awaiting a response from the SRU plc to a wide range of issues that have been tabled. Edinburgh Rugby Ltd remains optimistic that an agreed settlement is still possible which will avoid the necessity for court action."

The SRU declined to comment last night, but the strained relationship overshadowed Edinburgh's team announcement yesterday.

This article was posted on 3-Nov-2006, 08:26 by Hugh Barrow.