All group-based latin squares possess near transversals

Abstract

In a latin square of order $n$, a near transversal is a collection of $n-1$ cells which intersects each row, column, and symbol class at most once. A longstanding conjecture of Brualdi, Ryser, and Stein asserts that every latin square possesses a near transversal. We show that this conjecture is true for every latin square that is main class equivalent to the Cayley table of a finite group.