Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney is set to face calls to be removed from office after a community match rebellion submitted a request for an extraordinary general meeting on a night of fierce brawling between the warring parties.

There were 141 signatories to the letter sent to the RFU on Thursday, easily exceeding the 100 member clubs required to trigger the SGM under the governing body’s rules.

A statement from the Rugby Referees Union (RFRU), which is leading the grassroots uprising, revealed that preliminary resolutions to be debated at the extraordinary general meeting will include calling on the board to terminate Sweeney’s employment “as soon as practicable”.

RFU president Tom Ilube had been a key target of the rebellion but resigned last month in response to an outcry over the Twickenham executive pay and bonus scandal.

However, upon receipt of the letter, the RFU claimed that it contained “a number of inaccuracies” and “does not meet the relevant requirements and is therefore invalid as a request for an EGM”.

It also said the nine professional referees it employed had distanced themselves from the RFRU, with officials declaring “we do not endorse any statements or meetings made by them”.

Spokespersons for the 141 clubs seeking a vote of no confidence in Sweeney hit back, insisting the RFU were using technicalities to avoid being held accountable.

The spokesman said: “The RFU can buy as much time as they like but this is a mass movement led by a stronger, more united team.”

“Having hair-splitting over the rules of what is and is not a valid complaint form will only delay the inevitable.”

Accounts published by the RFU in November showed Sweeney was paid £1.1m in 2023-24, including a £742,000 increase in salary and a £358,000 bonus.

Although the RFU reported a record operating loss of £37.9m for the 2023-24 financial year, bonuses totaling almost £1m were paid out to five other executives.

In addition, 42 staff were made redundant in September, the England men’s team have won just five of 12 games in 2024 and grassroots participation is declining.

Other areas of controversy cited in the letter to the RFU include excessive bureaucracy and poor governance, cuts to development officers, the “failure” to introduce new tackle heights in community competitions and the cost of sacking former England head coach Eddie Jones.

Chichester RFC chairman Paddy McAlpine said: “What you are seeing is the culmination of years of frustration that has affected every aspect of our game.”

“Now this has exploded because clubs are angry when bonuses are handed out to executives. Every club I know wants to see change at the top.”

At an emergency meeting of the RFU council last month, it was announced that the organization had suffered “reputational harm” as a result of the pay scandal.

Ilube oversees its remuneration committee, which was responsible for the introduction of the Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) bonus scheme aimed at retaining executives during the uproar-inducing pandemic.

A law firm is conducting an independent review of the LTIP program.