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Saracenswill be relegated from the Premiership at the end of the season after a fourth salary-cap breach.
The reigning champions, who in November were fined more than £5m anddocked 35 Premiership pointsfor exceeding the cap in the previous three seasons, accepted they would not come in within the £7m cap at the end of the season.
Under the salary-cap regulations, breaches committed after the start of a season are punished the following campaign but Saracens, after talks with Premiership Rugby, decided to be relegated this season rather than wait a year.
“Premiership Rugby is prepared to take strong action to enforce the regulations governing fair competition between our clubs,” said the organisation’s chief executive, Darren Childs. “At the conclusion of dialogue with Saracens about their compliance with the salary-cap regulations, it has been decided that Saracens will be relegated at the end of this season.
“At the same time as enforcing the existing regulations, we want to ensure a level playing field for all clubs in the future, which is why we have asked Lord Myners to carry out an independently-led review of the cap. As part of this process, we will soon be announcing an open consultation so that everyone involved in the game has the opportunity to contribute to its future. The actions that we have taken – dealing with breaches of the current regulations and reviewing the system for the future – will help us to build a stronger league and uphold the confidence of supporters.”
Saracens will compete in the Premiership through to the end of the current 2019-20 season and even though there is no salary cap in the Championship, will have to present their books for scrutiny before being allowed back up.
The reigning European champions, the winners of four league titles in the last five years, contest a place in the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals on Sunday when they host French opponents Racing 92. But domestically, they have just five months left in the Premiership before exiting it and joining English rugby union’s second tier alongside clubs such as Ampthill, Jersey and Hartpury. Neil Golding, Saracens’ chairman, said: “I acknowledge the club has made errors in the past and we unreservedly apologise for those mistakes. I and the rest of the Board are committed to overseeing stringent new governance measures to ensure regulatory compliance.”
Saracens’ punishment was widely sought by their Premiership rivals, with Exeter – beaten for two seasons in a row by Sarries in the Premiership final – the most outspoken. Their chief executive, Tony Rowe, told BBC Radio Devon after hearing the news: “They’ve taken relegation,” Rowe said. “Let’s be very honest about this before people have sympathy with Saracens, they had two choices: they could either open up their books so that Premiership Rugby could do a forensic audit of exactly what has gone on, or they could take relegation. So it was their choice not to open up their books.
“Premiership Rugby – all the chairmen – we just want to move on. It was their opportunity to open up everything to the salary-cap people, or take relegation. They have decided to take relegation.”
He added: “We just want to move on. They have cheated. And I’m just a bit upset it has taken so long to do this. At the moment they are still picking their team each week largely from the squad they had last year which is still in breach of the salary cap. They have been asked by the rest of the Premiership clubs to reduce that [the squad] back as well.”
(THE GUARDIAN)
