Saracens accept sanctions as Wray admits ‘mistakes’
SARACENS chairman Nigel Wray admitted the club ‘have made mistakes’ after deciding not to appeal against their 35point deduction and £5.36million fine for salary-cap breaches.
The English and European champions have plunged to the bottom of the Premiership on minus-22 points after accepting their punishment.
The maximum possible fine and points deduction were approved for breaches during three seasons up to and including the 2018-19 campaign, and follow a nine-month investigation by Premiership Rugby.
The Sport Resolutions panel, chaired by Lord Dyson, upheld all charges after finding Saracens had failed to disclose payments to players and exceeded the ceiling for payments to senior players in each of the three seasons.
In the closest Sarries have come to an admission of guilt, Wray said: ‘We have made mistakes and so, with humility, we must accept these penalties.
‘Perhaps we have done the wrong thing for the right reasons. As a club, we will now pull together and meet the challenges that lie ahead.
‘We confirm our commitment to the salary cap and the underlying principle of a level playing field and will continue to work transparently with Premiership Rugby in this regard.’
Wray revealed the decision not to appeal was on the grounds it would be ‘a costly, time consuming and destabilising exercise’, adding it was also important to act for the ‘good of the game’.
The 71-year-old had previously stated co-investments with players did not constitute salary and should therefore not count towards the £7m salary cap.
‘I recognise the arrangements between myself and players, made in good faith, which comprise the material element of the charges, should have been brought to the attention of the salary-cap manager for consultation prior to entering into them,’ he said.
‘It is significant that following extensive investigations the panel stated that we have “not deliberately sought to circumvent the regulations”, albeit we recognise some of our actions were considered to be “reckless”.
‘I will continue as always to support the club financially going forwards to ensure there is no financial instability or uncertainty.
‘Perhaps we have done the wrong thing for the right reasons, but we must now draw a line and come together as Saracens to fully support our players, our coaches and our hard-working staff.’
Even with the 35-point deduction, which comes into immediate effect, they are unlikely to be relegated on the strength of their points totals for each of the last three seasons.
■ ALLIANZ are to hold talks with Saracens over concerns arising from the salary-cap scandal. The insurance company has been their main sponsor since 2012 in a deal which includes naming rights to their home ground. A statement said: ‘At Allianz we act with transparency and integrity, and living up to these high standards is very important to us. We will be holding discussions with the club to confirm this shared understanding and commitment going forward.’
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