Tunisia has apologised for their role in the bizarre feud, but says the Zimbabwean delegation is to blame.
A bizarre feud between the Tunisian and Zimbabwean rugby union bodies has taken another strange turn, with Tunisia accusing Zimbabwe’s team of “unethical actions” after their players slept on the street outside of their hotel in protest at their perceived poor accommodation.
Zimbabwe are in Tunisia for a Gold Cup clash on Saturday, but the team made global headlines after images on social media of their players sleeping on the curb went viral.
The Tunisian Rugby Union had apologised to the Zimbabwean team last week, but now say they feel the protest was unwarranted.
The TRU said the Zimbabwe delegation “started complaining as soon as they arrived” in Tunis, refusing to pay entry visas at the airport, which led to a delay of four hours.
The TRU said the team transferred to Beja, but hours after checking in, vacated their rooms and decided to sleep on the street outside in protest at what they perceived to be poor conditions.
“The head of the Zimbabwean delegation expressed reservations about the state of the bathroom in one of the rooms, the lack of a swimming pool and the low internet speed,” the TRU added.
“So, he started talking about leaving the hotel on the pretext that it is not decent enough for his team.
“He asked all the members of the delegation to take out their luggage, leave the hotel and spend the night outside on the ground. Local officials tried to talk and negotiate with the head of delegation but remained unsuccessful.”
The team then transferred to a nearby hotel in Nefza the following morning.
“The Tunisian Rugby Union expresses its deep regret for this unfortunate event and strongly deplores the anti-sports and unethical actions of the Zimbabwean delegation,” they said.
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