Club Statement: Salary Cap

Saracens Rugby Club is shocked and disappointed by these heavy-handed sanctions and will launch an appeal against all the Disciplinary Panel’s findings.

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 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.

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Q&A

The Club has received the Disciplinary Panel‘s findings and will be appealing. We are recognise that supporters will have a number of questions.  Hopefully, the following will address some of those. 

What happens during the appeal and how long will the appeal process take?

The sanctions will be suspended until after the appeal process is complete.  We do not know the timeframe for the appeal process.

Does this outcome affect any of your Premiership titles?

No.  Any points sanction that may be imposed in the future would not have an impact on any trophies the team has previously won.

Will the Club now be forced to sell players to comply with the salary cap?

No.  The Club allocates a set budget for player remuneration which the CEO and coaching staff take full responsibility for.  This budget falls within the salary cap and has no connection whatsoever to third party co-investments.

How does this verdict affect the Club’s transfer policy?

Regardless of the appeal, this outcome does not prevent the Club from signing new players.

How does this verdict affect the team’s preparation for the season ahead

Mark McCall, his coaches and players prepare for all of our games in the same focussed, committed way and that will continue to be the case. We are a very tight family and this will only make us closer.