Saracens To Appeal Against Salary Cap Punishment
Saracens have said they will appeal against ‘heavy-handed’ sanctions meted out by Premiership Rugby over breaches of the league’s salary cap.
The Premiership champions say they are ‘shocked and disappointed’ at being docked 35 points – the maximum under league regulations – and fined over £5.3m for breaches of the salary cap over the last three seasons.
Saracens say the independent panel, which conducted a hearing over five days in September and October 2019, has acknowledged that the club did not deliberately attempt to breach the salary cap and now the Premiership champions have confirmed that an external counsel will oversee a new ‘robust governance framework’ to ensure they follow best practice in the future.
A club statement said: “The club is pleased the panel acknowledged it did not deliberately attempt to breach the salary cap and steadfastly maintains that player co-investments do not constitute salary under the regulations. This view is supported by independent legal and professional experts.
“The club will continue to vigorously defend this position especially as PRL precedent already exists whereby co-investments have not been deemed part of salary in the regulations.
“As previously stated, the club made administrative errors relating to the non-disclosure of some transactions to PRL [Premier Rugby Ltd] and for this we apologise. We are pleased to confirm we now have a robust governance framework in place and this will be overseen by an external counsel to ensure the Club follows best practice.
“Furthermore, it is the Club’s belief that the panel’s narrow interpretation of the regulations is detrimental to player welfare across the league and is damaging the development of elite level rugby in the UK.
“Saracens is proud of its pioneering, innovative approach to player welfare, developing their talents and supporting their entrepreneurial spirit for life beyond rugby.”
Saracens Owner Nigel Wray said in a statement: “For over 25 years, I have put my heart and soul into the game I love. Together we have created something incredibly special with the Saracens family, both on and off the field.
“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. We will appeal all the findings.”
The news means the club would be bottom of the table on -26 points, but all sanctions will be suspended pending the review process.
