Robshaw fears for rugby after Saracens ‘cheating’
CHRIS ROBSHAW has branded the pinnacle of English rugby ‘illegal’ and accused Saracens of cheating after they were punished for breaches of salary cap regulations.
The Premiership champions were hit with a 35-point deduction in this season’s competition and fined more than £5million on Tuesday, although both sanctions will be suspended while the club – who described the action as ‘heavy-handed’ – appeal against them.
Sarries, also the European champions, risked another financial penalty yesterday when they failed to turn up for the season launch of the Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup.
Former England captain Robshaw was at the event in Cardiff and was scathing in his criticism of Saracens,
It will not be easy for our sport to move forward, we have damage control to do
saying the club had dragged rugby union’s reputation through the mud.
‘It’s not great, the game we love is in the world eye and the pinnacle of English rugby is illegal,’ said the Harlequins skipper. ‘It puts our sport in a very dangerous place. We’re a sport that claims to be whiter than white, and we always look down on football, but we are like everyone else.
‘This is cheating to a certain extent and it’s not a good situation for our sport to be in. Whether it’s them (Saracens) or someone else, it’s not a thing we pride ourselves on.
‘As a sport, we have got to take the damage that comes with that now and I’m sure it will be like that for a while.
‘It will not be easy for our sport to move forward. We have got some damage control to do.’
In 2015, Saracens were one of two clubs who reached confidential agreements with Premiership Rugby Limited over salary-cap issues.
The league was accused of turning a blind eye to any misdemeanours and wiping the slate clean, to the dismay of some clubs. The latest findings only apply to the last three seasons and do not take into account the 2015 probe. ‘It has been spoken about for a long time among players and the wider public,’ Robshaw said.
‘When you look at their squad, it’s a pretty big squad of international players and you don’t have to be a genius to work some of these figures out.
‘It looks like it’s started to be dealt with. Is it finished? I don’t know, but hopefully it’s going in the right direction and we can get back to a level playing field where we want to compete because that’s what the salary cap is about.
‘It’s making sure everyone has a chance, everyone has the same level of funding, can compete and we have a competitive league.’