Speedway's "Mr Big" this week defended the controversial double points rule which caused a storm at Arlington Stadium.

Terry Russell, owner of Eastbourne Eagles and the most powerful figure in the sport, insisted: "It's a good rule. It was brought in to improve racing, not to stop racing."

Russell was talking after the dust had settled on last Saturday's Elite League clash between Eastbourne and Poole, which descended into farce when two Poole riders deliberately pulled out of a race.

It meant the visitors went eight points behind but were then able to play an It's A Knockout-style "joker" in the next race with one of their top riders scoring double points.

The rule, which a team can use up to three times during a match, means a lead of eight points can be reduced to a single point if the nominated rider wins and his partner finishes second.

There was uproar at Arlington last Saturday when Poole skipper Magnus Zetterstrom stopped on the third lap and then Grand Prix ace Ryan Sullivan quit half a lap from the finish and made no effort to push his bike home to claim a point.

Said Russell: "No cheating took place. What happened was the rule was exploited. It was ungentlemanly conduct, but the referee could have dealt with it."

He agreed the rule was unpopular but claimed: "Everything we do is unpopular until people get used to it."

Russell, in Cardiff to oversee preparations for Saturday night's British Grand Prix at the Millennium Stadium, added: "The tactical substitute rule was equally unpopular when that was introduced.

"So was the Grand Prix when it was brought in to replace the World Championship.

"Now we get one of these meetings every year and it's fantastic. Under the old system we got a world final in England every five years if we were lucky.

"Without the sort of changes we are bringing in, the sport wouldn't move forward."

In addition to being the owner and promoter of the Eastbourne club, Russell also owns another Elite League club, Swindon, but denied he had any involvement with Arena Essex, which is run by his brother.

Russell is also president of the BSPA and negotiated the deal with Sky TV while he was chairman.

His company, Go-Speed, now own the commercial and television rights for British speedway.

He explained: "I have been involved with speedway for 30 years, and when I retired from my other business I committed myself full-time to the sport."

Russell was one of the prime movers of the new double points rule, which is believed to have been brought in this year to satisfy the demands of television and to ensure closer matches.

He now accepts the rule needs "a bit of tweaking."

"Maybe it should be ten points. Maybe one of the riders should go off the line and the other from 15m back.

"Maybe the rule shouldn't be used after heat 12. I don't know, but these are the areas which need looking at."

Russell admitted, however: "We are stuck with what we've got for this season because it can only be changed at the annual meeting."

In the meantime, he believes referees have the ultimate sanction to stop what happened at Arlington last week.

"The minute the second Poole rider pulled up, he should have hit the red light and awarded the race as a 5-1 instead of a 5-0. He knew what was happening, because we told him it was going to happen before the race. He could have stopped them in their tracks.

"Referees have been given the power to award races whenever they like.

"They can do it now on the first lap or the first bend. They just need to be aware of what is happening.

"The referee is the only person who can see fair play."

The next speedway at Arlington Stadium is on Monday night when Eastbourne and Oxford meet in a televised Elite League match (7.30).