Cape Town - SANZAR CEO Greg
Peters has ruled out proposed punishments for the Kings after the team breached
SARU’s rules by fielding three foreign players in their Super Rugby game against the Chiefs.
Speaking to the Sharksworld website, Peters confirmed that SARU does not have the jurisdiction to suspend the Kings or to dock the team points, as that would “affect the competition as a whole”.
Only SANZAR is empowered to act against any team that will in any way affect competition participation or log standings.
When the Kings played three foreign players they were not acting against SANZAR’s rules.
“It is not our laws that have been breached,” Peters said.
SANZAR has no such existing limit on the use of foreign players, for example, the Rebels were allowed by the ARU to field up to ten foreign players after the team entered Super Rugby in 2011.
SARU's only remaining recourse is to impose a financial penalty on the Kings.
In a press release, SARU stated that they could possibly fine the franchise if they continued to flout the rules, with a financial penalty of up to R1m.