KNOCKOUT BLOW LEAVES SARACENS SUNK ON —77!
Disgraced club docked more points and chief exec is out after 26 days
SARACENS’ turmoil plumbed new depths yesterday when they were docked another 70 league points, within hours of their interim chief executive leaving his post 26 days after being appointed.
The Premiership and European champions received confirmation two weeks ago that they would be relegated at the end of the season and the after- shocks from their salary cap breaches continue to reverberate. Premiership Rugby released a statement last night confirming the additional sanction against Saracens, which would leave them on -77 points — after they were hit by a 35-point penalty in November.
This action by PRL followed a unanimous vote among their member clubs to make immediate, mid-season amendments to the salary cap regulations.
The changes ensure that any club suspected of a breach will face a mid- season audit — and failure to comply will result in the deduction of 70 points, as in this case.
By taking these emergency steps, PRL are guaranteeing Saracens will finish bottom of the table and go down.
It was revealed that the organisation have been in dialogue with the RFU, although the governing body have not taken any action themselves. It is a move designed to tidy up loose ends, but there is also a sense of making-it-up-as-they-goalong farce about the measures. This latest twist in the tale came just hours after Saracens announced that Edward Griffiths had left his post as interim chief executive. On January 2, the north London club revealed Griffiths had been brought back for a second stint as CEO, for a 12-month period, but he has not even lasted one month. Sportsmail understands tensions had arisen between Griffiths (below) and new chairman Neil Golding, who succeeded Nigel Wray — the benefactor whose investments in certain players’ houses and businesses were exposed by this newspaper last year. Wray stepped down after Saracens were docked 35 league points and fined £ 5.4million, after being found guilty of breaching the cap in three of the last four seasons. Sources have indicated that Griffiths and Golding had very different views about the best way to oversee the recovery from this damaging episode. Griffiths spoke publicly about the need for the club to hurriedly reduce their budget and he was involved in negotiating with other clubs about releasing Saracens players, either on loan deals or for longterm moves.
However, his presence was regarded by many as inflammatory. During Griffiths’ first stint as chief executive, Saracens were investigated and fined for breaching the salary cap, and his policy of cutting agents out of contract negotiations caused unrest which has had a knock- on effect in recent weeks. Rival clubs and leading transfer deal-makers were reluctant to work with him.
The upshot is that, in the midst of this turbulent period, Saracens are now searching for a new chief executive; one who can form a strong rapport with the club’s chairman, with officials at other clubs and with agents. The budget- cutting process will involve delicate diplomacy.
Meanwhile, England are here in the Algarve, preparing for a Six Nations opener against France in Paris, with their large Saracens contingent once again in danger of being distracted by upheaval at their beleaguered club. They have also been having to deal with the mocking reaction of some fellow members of the Red Rose squad, who have gleefully capitalised on their predicament.
Joe Marler made no attempt to disguise his place in that category. Asked if there had been savage banter — as well as a serious, clear-the-air meeting on the subject — the Harlequins prop said: ‘ Loads of it. I had a certain amount of ammo previously, but they kept winning stuff, so then you can take the mickey out of them all you want, but you haven’t got a medal to show for anything. But this has given me a bit more ammo to take the mick.
‘It is the only way I know how to deal with awkward situations or slightly more serious stuff — and I like to think that has helped them to think everything is normal; we are just carrying on as normal.’
Senior players from Quins such as Chris Robshaw and Danny Care have criticised Saracens in public since the salary cap judgement was announced last November, but Marler added: ‘There are guys from my club who have been very vocal about it, but they are not here. We have eight weeks to become as close as we can. We became close in Japan and that made a huge difference to the way we performed on the field.’