Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Live coverage of the fourth round of the Chairman’s Cup was interrupted on the Lakapi Samoa’s official Facebook page this past Saturday, the Samoa Observer reported Monday.

Sources said the organization’s social media administrators did not know why the Facebook page had been removed. An appeal was submitted to Facebook’s parent company, Meta, seeking an explanation and the restoration of the page, according to the report.

A source familiar with the livestreams said, the page became inaccessible without warning while matches were being live streamed. Lakapi Samoa’s official Instagram account remains active.

The Observer reported that a team is trying to determine whether the page may have been flagged for copyright violations involving music or other content. However, no infringement that could explain its removal has been identified.

The Facebook page is one of the national rugby union’s main platforms for publishing announcements, match information and live coverage of domestic competitions. Its removal disrupted Saturday’s Chairman’s Cup broadcasts and prevented followers from accessing previously published material.

The report said it is unclear whether the page was removed by Meta, deleted through an administrator’s account or temporarily disabled because of a technical or security issue.

The other pages affiliated with the Lakapi Samoa remain open, such as the Manu Samoa and Manu Samoa Sevens, Manuma Samoa, Lakapi Samoa-Development, Manusina XV.

The page’s removal comes amid uncertainty about Lakapi Samoa’s future following the Government’s withdrawal of its recognition and financial support from the union.

World Rugby has proposed an independent review of the Government’s decision, but the Government had not responded to the proposal when the international body’s delegation departed Samoa on Saturday.

A joint statement from World Rugby and Lakapi Samoa had been expected to be released on Monday, but no further information was available at press time.

In the meantime, a new rugby union has been launched in Samoa, despite efforts by the sport’s global governing body to mediate a resolution to the current impasse between the Samoa government and Lakapi Samoa.

Media reports out of Apia say the new Samoa Rugby Football Union (SRFU), a rival organization to Lakapi Samoa, was launched at the Sheraton Samoa Aggie Grey’s Hotel on Friday evening.

At the same time, Lakapi Samoa chairman Afioga Namulauulu Papali’i Leota Sami Leota and his board members have stepped aside pending a review, according to the Pacific Rugby Players Welfare (PRPW), in a Facebook post.

The new body was launched just two days after the Samoa government anounnced it was withdrawing support for Lakapi Samoa, throwing the future of the sport in the country into disarray.

Both the Samoa Observer and the Talamua Online News reported the new body was launched over the weekend.

SRFU secretary Tafafunai Aialii Anapu stated the organization remained committed to its establishment and its vision of uniting Samoa’s rugby community.

RNZ Pacific sources say World Rugby had given conditions to government, although World Rugby has denied giving an ultimatum, stating it was “in dialogue with all parties in a mediator role”.