A "prominent" sports lawyer said that the legal battle over rugby player Denny Solomona's contract "could impact both rugby codes in a way the Bosman ruling affected football," according to Andrew Aloia of the BBC. Despite having two years remaining on his contract with Super League club Castleford Tigers, Solomona retired from rugby league and "subsequently joined Premiership rugby union side Sale Sharks on a three-year deal." On Sunday, the 23-year-old made his debut in Sale's European Champions Cup defeat by Saracens. Castleford is taking legal action "as a last resort," with the Tigers suing for damages against Sale, Solomona and Andy Clark -- his agent -- at the High Court in Leeds. Tigers Chair Steve Gill said the case is "for the integrity of all sports, including, of course, rugby union clubs." A sports lawyer at CM Solicitors said, "It may lead to something that has an effect like Bosman -- it has the potential to be like that." The legal battle for Solomona "has been more than 120 years in the making," according to professor Tony Collins, a leader in both rugby codes from the Int'l Centre for Sports History & Culture at De Montfort University. Collins said, "The case throws up a huge amount of issues that have either been under the surface in both games or ones that are inevitably going to arise as rugby becomes more commercialized and professionalized." Rugby Football League CEO Nigel Wood said that he is worried about the "implications for the game" as the "sanctity of contracts need to be respected." Gill said that Sale was "repeatedly" told that the club "did not have permission to approach Solomona about a move to rugby union" (BBC, 12/19).
