School rugby officials are confused about the eligibility criterion that’s used for the upcoming school tournament in the Carlton Sevens Rugby tournament.

Many schools believe that teams are taking part at The Carlton Sevens on invitation and can field the players who did duty for their respective schools during the 2009 rugby season. These academic institutes also think that the Carlton Sevens belongs to the 2009 rugby calendar and hence players who represented their schools this season could take the field at the tournament irrespective of whether they have obtained employed, or not.

However, Isipathana College has encountered a problem in fielding one of their star players, this season, for the Carlton Sevens, due to a complaint that has been filed. The player has obtained employment with a bank but the school believes it is okay to field him in the team, for the tournament, because the lad has still not asked for his leaving certificate.

Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) CEO Lasitha Guneratne said that the organizers of the Carlton Sevens tournament wouldn’t have a problem with the eligibility of players for the schools segment of the tournament if the principles or heads of schools certified that the players named for the tournament were still in school. "A student to be eligible to represent his school at sport must also comply with regulations set by the Education Ministry," he said.

The Carlton Sevens rugby tournament, scheduled to be held on November 28 and 29 in Colombo, will comprise of the final leg of the Asian Sevens Series and an International Invitation tournament apart from the schools tournament.