Anger grips Scotland after revelation that SRU's top executive was paid £933,000 last year

There has been a sizable backlash in the Scottish rugby community after The Offside Line revealed the staggering salaries paid to Scottish Rugby Union executives. 

The website revealed that the highest-paid executive – which is usually the chief executive, in this instance Mark Dodson – received £933,000 for the year up to May 31, 2019, which was double his previous year’s earnings of £455,000. The fees and salaries for all the company directors jumped from £1.13m to £2.246m.

Journalists and fans alike have shown their outrage on social media at these findings and have begun to dissect the situation Scotland rugby finds itself in. 

The Scottish Daily Mail’s Rob Robertson described the revelation as “appaling”, while The Times’ Alasdair Reid said the figures were particularly alarming given the current exodus of players from the Scottish game.

Owain Jones compared the controversy to the outcry when former Rugby Football Union chief executive Ian Ritchie was paid £600k from a £207million turnover, which pales into insignificance compared to £933,000 the SRU gave its top executive from a turnover of £61.1m.

(Continue reading below…)

Only last week it was announced that Jonny Gray will be leaving the Glasgow Warriors at the end of the season to join the Exeter Chiefs, a move that Stuart Hogg made last summer. 

With Finn Russell having also left the Warriors to join France’s Racing 92 in 2018 as well as the imminent departure of Glasgow boss Dave Rennie to coach the Wallabies, the criticism of the SRU is that its money is not being spent to retain or bring in new players – and these findings about the CEO’s salary have proven to be incendiary.

This is appalling! THE highest paid executive in the Scottish Rugby Union – usually the Chief Executive (Mark Dodson) – received aggregate emoluments of £933k (before pension contributions), more than double the £455k earned the previous year. Well done @theoffsideline 4 story.

— Rob Robertson (@ROB_Robireland) January 14, 2020

The SRU annual report, given to member clubs, no longer reveals fees, salaries and benefits paid to its directors. However, they are obliged to do so in legal accounts lodged at Companies House. 1/3

— Alasdair Reid (@AlasdairReid3) January 14, 2020

These accounts show that fees and salaries paid to all directors almost doubled last year, from £1.13m in 2017-18 to to £2.25m in 2018-19. 2/3

— Alasdair Reid (@AlasdairReid3) January 14, 2020

My Lord, 933k for (almost certainly) Mark Dodson. I remember the outcry when it was announced Ian Ritchie was on 600k at the RFU when it had a £207m turnover after RWC 2015. The SRU's turnover was £61.1m in 2018-19. Can you explain, kind sir?

— Owain Jones (@OwainJTJones) January 14, 2020

The main criticism from fans seems to be that no Scottish team at any level has performed at a level that warranted such a pay rise for the senior members of the SRU. 

The men’s team finished fifth in the 2019 Six Nations, and while the World Cup didn’t take place before the May 31 date in the SRU accounts, Scotland did themselves no favours in Japan, bowing out at the pool stages. 

Ironically, it was actually during the RWC that Dodson’s comments regarding their potentially cancelled match against Japan during Typhoon Hagibis led to a £70,000 fine for Scottish Rugby. 

https://twitter.com/Pugoramma/status/1217052039332737027?s=20

I know successful CEOs can receive big increases, but looking at Scotlands performance at the 6Ns and RWC, the U20s relegation to the second tier tournament, under investment in Glasgow and those comments at RWC Dodson hardly fits that bill.

— Doug the Prop??? (@DougProp) January 14, 2020

Rob, you need to write about this. This is a disgrace. The results of the Men's, Women's, 7s and u20s merit a formal warning, not a doubling of his salary.

— SyKoro72 (@sykoro72) January 14, 2020

https://twitter.com/scottbricknal/status/1217099507126755328?s=20

Jesus @Scotlandteam this is an absolute joke. More than £900k for a CEO??? Do you think you're a FTSE 100 company or something?? No wonder Glasgows top players keep leaving without being replaced, money shovelled into the trough for Dodson https://t.co/JK0KDXxeZD

— Niall Sommerville (@niall_som) January 14, 2020

Many fans have been piling into this discussion, which was always going to prove very controversial in light of performances over the past year, and this may only be the beginning of a long saga. 

WATCH: RugbyPass have made something truly special with the Barbarians rugby team