• Ilube was under pressure after emergency meeting
• Chair was heavily criticised over sport’s pay furore

Tom Ilube has stepped down as the chairman of the Rugby Football Union due to the executive pay and bonus scandal that has engulfed the game.

Ilube, who took up the role in 2021, admitted in a brief statement that “recent events have become a distraction from the game” amid the fury at all levels over the game after it emerged the chief executive Bill Sweeney was paid £1.1m, including a £358,000 long-term incentive plan bonus while five other executive directors shared a bonus of close to £1m amid 42 redundancies and the RFU’s record loss to reserves.