Imperial College Union welcomes the outcomes from the emergency meeting of the Board of Trustees Governance Committee. The recent actions of, and incidents involving, members of both the ICU Rugby Football Club and the Imperial Medicals Rugby Football Club, brought the Union and Imperial College London into disrepute and cannot be ignored or go unpunished.

Whilst we regret that some individuals who may not have been involved in these incidents will suffer as a result of the punishments, the culture and behaviour of the clubs as a whole needs to change. We actively encourage students who value the activities of their clubs and societies to look at the behaviours of some of their members and rebuild a culture where these actions are no longer acceptable.  We also want to thank Sport Imperial for working with us on these sanctions and ensuring that all members of the Governance Committee were fully-informed of the impact on the teams league rankings and BUCS points.

It is always our aim to support and facilitate student activities and our 340 Clubs, Societies & Projects are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our army of 2,500 student volunteers. However, we will not tolerate damage to the reputation of the independent, student-led sports and activities that make the Imperial community such a special one to be a part of. We are proud to run one of the largest student activities programmes in the UK and will take active steps to defend it where appropriate.  The Union will be looking at ways of creating a positive culture around our Clubs, Societies & Projects, supporting clubs in the changes that need to take place, and celebrating and rewarding clubs whose activities are not only excellent, but also create safe, inclusive and welcoming environments for all the members of Imperial College Union. 

The Governance Committee imposes the following penalties on the Imperial College Union Rugby Football Club:

• ICURFC will be suspended for two weeks from the date of this meeting (11 November 2014)
• The 22 members on the team sheet from the match of 30 October 2014 will be suspended from membership of ICURFC or other Union rugby teams until 31 December 2014
• The 22 members on the team sheet from the match of 30 October 2014 will undertake Union service, i.e. work on Union or College campuses of benefit to the College community, to be determined by the Union

The Governance Committee imposes the following penalties on the Imperial Medicals Football Club:

• ICSMRFC will be suspended for three weeks from the date of this meeting (11 November 2014)
• Suspension of all ICSMRFC social activities until the end of term (up to and including Friday 19 December 2014) (this includes social activities organized under the ICSMRFC name and held both on and off College premises using Union finance processes)
• The members of the third team on the team sheet from the match on 22 October 2014 will undertake Union service, i.e. work on Union or College campuses of benefit to the College community, to be determined by the Union