Sep 6, 2007, 18:02 GMT
Paris - Coverage of the Rugby World Cup, which kicks-off Friday with a match between Argentina and the hosts France, is in jeopardy after several news agencies decided Thursday not to continue with their coverage.
Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa, joined several other agencies including Reuters, AFP and AP in suspending coverage of the event over an ongoing dispute with the International Rugby Board (IRB) over media credentials.
The dispute revolves, amongst other issues, around the IRB's restrictions of the amount of photographs that agencies are allowed to publish on their websites of ongoing matches and a time restriction on video footage.
After being made aware of the problems with the terms and conditions surrounding accreditation for the tournament, the IRB this week issued new regulations, but these remain unacceptable to several media organizations.
The European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) and Getty Images also said they would not publish any photographs of the Rugby World Cup.
It is hoped that the dispute would be resolved before Friday's opening game to allow coverage of the competition.
Your Talkback on this Story