Damning verdict Saracens £2m salary cap breach was reckless, flagrant and egregious
Salary-cap breach is condemned by league Club ‘overpaid’ for Itoje’s £1.6m image rights
Saracens’ defence of their £2 million salary-cap breach over three years lay in tatters last night as the full judgment against them condemned the club’s “reckless”, “flagrant” and “egregious” failure to comply.
Nigel Wray, the former chairman who bankrolled back-to-back title successes, apologised for his “illconsidered approach” after Lord Dyson’s report confirmed how the club narrowly escaped an immediate 70-point punishment.
Dyson’s findings on Saracens’ failure to abide by the £7million salary cap covered three consecutive seasons and led to them being docked 35 points and fined £5.3 million when it was completed in November. Last week, the club’s relegation was confirmed after executives refused to open up their accounts for this campaign.
However, it has now emerged that the previous charges were already enough to send Saracens down. The breach in 2016-17 of £1,134,968.60 and one in 2018-19 of £906,505.57 were both worthy of the maximum 35-point punishments, the rule book states, but the panel instead settled on a concurrent 35-point sentence, which it said was less “disproportionate”.
Premiership Rugby Limited had released a redacted version of its 103-page judgment just hours after the full version was leaked to a broadcaster. Names were redacted from the official version but Sky News had already detailed how Wray and two Saracens directors paid one player, Maro Itoje, £1.6million for a 30 per cent share of his image rights.
Saffery Champness, the accountancy firm, subsequently claimed Saracens had overpaid by £800,000, the report says, adding that Itoje was also paid £95,000 over three years by a hospitality company based at Saracens.
Last night, the Rugby Players’ Association piled pressure on the Premiership to launch a hunt for the mole who leaked the details, which also included co-investments in buy-to-let properties with Chris Ashton, Richard Wigglesworth
and the Vunipola brothers. “We were stunned that the entire report was leaked to the press. This has caused untold damage to all parties concerned,” said Damian Hopley, the RPA chairman.
The report is blistering in its criticism of the club’s failure to co-operate with Andrew Rogers, the Premiership’s head of governance and regulation. Saracens were guilty of a “flagrant and reckless failure to comply with its obligations”, the report said. There were no checks to ensure they were falling within the cap subsequent to their secretive 2015 settlement
Pages to 103 Premiership Rugby’s published judgment on the Saracens salary-cap breach
with Premiership Rugby, a punishment described in the report as the club’s “yellow card”.
The panel said: “We do not accept that Saracens’ breaches can all be characterised as merely negligent. Its failure to cooperate with Mr Rogers and to seek clarification was egregious, particularly in light of the events leading up to the 2015 settlement. It took risks and is now paying the price for doing so.”
Mitesh Velani, the chief executive, copied and pasted large chunks of the defence from the previous 2015 hearing in the club’s submissions, which, the report said, “contested” any breach giving rise to the points deduction, and “even contended that the regulations are contrary to competition law and illegal”. “We accept the breaches were not deliberate, but in our view they were reckless,” the report said. “At the very least, they were negligent.”
It also emerged for the first time that Saracens were not actually found in breach of the pay cap in 2015, but had reached a settlement with the league over their “failure to cooperate”. “In our view, following the settlement Saracens should have ensured that it and its connected parties scrupulously adhered to the regulations,” the report added. “There was no evidence before us that Saracens had taken any steps to alert any connected party of this need.”
Last night, Wray took responsibility for the mess, but attempted to defend the nature of the investments. “I’m really sorry for the heartache that I have caused you due to my ill-considered approach to matters relating to salary-cap compliance,” he said in a message to supporters.
“My intention with co-investments was always to support players beyond their playing careers. I recognise that the actions of the club were described by the panel as ‘reckless’ primarily due to my failure to consult with PRL’S salarycap manager prior to entering into any agreements and then disclosing the transactions to him. I take full responsibility for this. We should have been far better.”
He said it was “equally important” that the panel had determined that neither the club nor himself deliberately attempted to breach the cap. Lord Dyson, a former Master of the Rolls, states that there is no suggestion or evidence that any player was complicit in any of the club’s actions, or was aware of the violations.
Last night, chief executives at other clubs welcomed the full disclosure, but one senior club official is calling for governance to become fully independent of the league.
“I think, if we’re genuinely serious about it, we have to take away governance from ourselves and let that be independent,” the official told The Daily Telegraph.
“If you’re not happy to let people do a proper audit on you, and you’re happy to take relegation, there’s something fundamentally wrong here somewhere.”
Stripping of titles should also be added as an “ultimate sanction” to the rule book, he added.
Both England and the British and Irish Lions have told Saracens that they will continue to select their proven performers such as Owen Farrell, Itoje and the Vunipola brothers, even though the club will be playing in the Championship next season.
An independent inquiry into Premiership salary-cap rules will deliver its findings by the start of next season.
Champions Cup, was in line for his 50th cap against Ireland. However, it appears Townsend will now have to turn to Glasgow Warriors playmaker Adam Hastings in Dublin.
Russell played under Townsend at Glasgow before Townsend left the club to become Scotland head coach in 2017. At the final whistle of a 38-38 draw with England at Twickenham last March, Russell suggested that he and Townsend had clashed over tactics at halftime, with Scotland 31-7 down.
“I think I had an argument with Gregor,” Russell told broadcasters ITV Sport. “I said, ‘You’re telling us to kick and when we kick it, they’re just running it back and cutting us open. When we run it, they’re just hitting us hard behind the gain-line and winning the ball back.’
“In the first half we got caught off-guard with England, similar to two years ago [when Scotland lost 61-21] and then in the second half, we had nothing to lose. We just played our rugby, kicked out of our half and scored some great tries.”
Ireland thrashed Scotland 27-3 in their pool-stage meeting at the World Cup last year, having beaten Townsend’s side 22-13 at Murrayfield seven months previously in the Six Nations.
Given Russell’s influence and ability, it is hard to imagine a more damaging start to Scotland’s year and to the tenure of Stuart Hogg, the new captain. At the Six Nations launch on Wednesday, Hogg revealed that he had put himself forward to lead the side.
“It’s an opportunity to make sure that we’re doing everything right, on and off the field, and ultimately go into a Test match with confidence,” the full-back said.
“I’ve been involved in the leadership group for the past four or five seasons. I’m passionate about playing for Scotland and I want to make a difference. I said to Gregor that I’d be keen to be captain and it’s a huge honour to be given this role.”
After travelling to Ireland in round one, Scotland host England at Murrayfield on Feb 8.