Saracens ‘should be thrown out of league’
Rivals Exeter say champions escaped lightly with 35-point deduction and £5.3m fine for salary cap breaches
Premiership and European champions Saracens are facing a battle for survival after being hit with a 35-point deduction for breaching the league’s salary cap over a threeyear period.
Three days after losing in the World Cup final, Saracens’ England players, along with the rest of the club’s squad, were informed of the decision at a meeting yesterday morning and told that the club intend to fight it.
With Saracens being fined £5.3 million as well as the maximum possible points deduction, English rugby has been plunged into its biggest scandal since the “Bloodgate” blood-capsule controversy in 2009.
On an extraordinary day:
Nigel Wray, the Saracens owner, said that the punishment “feels like the rug is being completely pulled out from under our feet”.
Tony Rowe, the Exeter chairman, told The Daily Telegraph that Saracens escaped lightly and should be thrown out of the league.
Rivals were understood to be considering abandoning games against Saracens if they pursue their challenge.
It emerged that Allianz, Saracens’ principal sponsor, would be within its rights to terminate their partnership.
The deduction, if an appeal fails, would leave Saracens on -26 points and in a relegation battle while the club will be forced to offload leading players to stay within the salary cap in future.
Over the past decade, Saracens have emerged as the leading club in both English and European rugby. They have won four of the past five Premiership crowns and three of the past four Champions Cup titles. Although those trophies will remain in their cabinet, they may well appear in the history books with asterisks in much the same way that Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France titles are now considered.
There have long been questions on how they can afford to maintain 26 internationals – including seven Lions Test players – in their squad.
Earlier this year, it emerged that Wray had entered into business partnerships with England internationals Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Richard Wigglesworth, Billy Vunipola and Mako Vunipola.
After a nine-month investigation, an independent disciplinary panel appointed by Sport Resolutions concluded that Saracens failed to disclose payments to players over the past three seasons as well as exceeding the £7 million ceiling for the salary cap.
Saracens almost immediately indicated they would challenge the ruling. In a statement, Wray, who was flying back from Japan, said: “This is absolutely devastating for everyone associated with this amazing group of players, staff, partners and fans. It has been acknowledged by the panel that we never deliberately sought to mislead anyone or breach the cap and that’s why it feels like the rug is being completely pulled out from under our feet.”
However, Saracens’ decision to fight back drew a furious reaction from many of their rivals, who have long suspected the north London club of going against the spirit, if not the letter, of the salary cap.
In incendiary internal communications, clubs have discussed the possibility of abandoning games against Saracens if they take their challenge to the High Court.
Exeter, who have lost the past two Premiership finals to Saracens, have been among the most outspoken teams, with owner Rowe insisting they should have been relegated.
“The penalty does not fit the crime,” Rowe told The Telegraph. “If you look at other leagues, if you do something like that you get chucked out. They should have been at least relegated and made to reduce their squad immediately. If they are still allowed to keep the same members in their squad and maintain the same spending then that is nothing. A fine of £5million, although it sounds a lot, when you look at the backing they have and what they have achieved with two English titles and European championships, at £2.5million a year, it is cheap, isn’t it?”
Saracens only have the right to seek a review by a new panel, which can overturn the punishment only if it finds there has been a procedural error or the decision was disproportionate or unfair. Given that the panel was chaired by Lord Dyson, a former Justice of the Supreme Court, a legal expert told The Telegraph that their chances of success are small.
“I think it will be very difficult for Saracens to challenge,” Richard Cramer, managing partner of Front Row Legal, said. “It looks like the decision has been made properly. It certainly does not seem to be a capricious, unreasonable or disproportionate decision.”
Premiership Rugby expects the review to be completed early next year. After that, Saracens’ next option would be to take the case to the High Court on the grounds that the salary cap limit of £7million is anticompetitive or a restraint of trade.
Meanwhile, Nigel Currie, a leading sponsorship consultant, says that Saracens’ main backers, Allianz, could use an “embarrassment clause” to terminate their partnership. Allianz yesterday told The Telegraph it was “aware” of Saracens’ punishment.
Saracens are not obliged to end Wray’s business partnerships with his players but, now that they are disclosed, they will count against the salary cap.
That will almost certainly lead to a trimming of the squad at the end of the season, with the likes of Wales full-back Liam Williams, rising star Joel Kpoku and flanker Michael Rhodes all out of contract. The bulk of their England players, including Farrell and Itoje, are tied to longterm contracts.
Their futures will be called into question if Saracens are relegated. If the points deduction stands, they must make up a 30-point gap on 11th place Bath. With England’s players disappearing in 11 weeks for the Six Nations and being entitled to enforced rest periods, their international contingent will ironically count against them.