The directors of League Publications have been rocked by allegations that the fans forum on the Totalrl.com website has been harbouring Russian spies, who have been using the forum to pass on coded messages to sympathisers in the United Kingdom.
The allegations were passed on confidentially by the Rugby Football League, who will be discussing the issue at today’s meeting of its board of directors.
“A revelation like this could do untold damage to the image of the game,” an anonymous source told Totalrl.com.
It is believed that the nest of spies was uncovered by MI5 after an anonymous tip-off from a member of the forum who had been able to decode some of the messages posted by the spies posing as Rugby League fans on the forum.
“I’m shattered by this news,” said League Publications Chairman Martyn Sadler, a regular poster on the forum himself.
“Even though the allegations have been made anonymously, we will take them very seriously and we will root out the Russian spies as quickly as possible.”
