Share

Saracens to drop salary cap appeal - reports

London - European champions Saracens will drop their appeal against a £5.4 million fine and a 35-point penalty for salary cap breaches, according to British media reports on Sunday.

Saracens had planned to appeal against the "heavy-handed" punishments that were described by the English Premiership club's chairman Nigel Wray as "absolutely devastating".

But ahead of Monday's deadline to officially serve notice of appeal, the Sunday Times reported Saracens are poised to confirm they will accept the punishments.

While an appeals process was in place, the sanctions were suspended.

The points penalty would now come into immediate effect on Monday once the club has confirmed its decision.

It means English champions Saracens, currently third in the table on 13 points, a point behind leaders Bristol, will sit on -22 points, 26 adrift of bottom club Leicester.

It is understood the club will be given a short period of time to make payment of their fine.

An independent panel, led by barrister Lord Dyson, found the club had failed to disclose payments to players in each of the 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons, and had also exceeded the ceiling for payments to senior players.

No details have been revealed on the size of the undisclosed payments or the recipients.

But Premiership Rugby's investigations were reported to have centred around Wray's involvements in companies such as VunProp Ltd (Mako and Billy Vunipola), Faz Investments Ltd (Owen Farrell), Wiggy9 Ltd (Richard Wigglesworth) and MN Property Solutions Ltd (Maro Itoje).

The panel was established after a nine-month Premiership Rugby investigation led to charges being brought in June.

Saracens have yet to comment about the report they will drop the appeal.

Mark McCall's side are due to play Racing 92 in the European Champions Cup in Paris on Sunday.

Speaking to BT Sport ahead of the Racing clash, McCall made it clear he wouldn't be involved in the appeal decision.

"Other people in the club are going to make that decision. As far as I know the deadline is tomorrow," he said.

"My job is very clear and that's to get on with the rugby and get the very best out of this group.

"It's not my decision. It's a decision for other people in the club."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
loading... Live
Lamontville Golden Arrows 1
Royal AM 0
loading... Live
Sheffield United 0
Burnley 0
loading... Live
Luton Town 0
Brentford 0
loading... Live
Benetton 19
Dragons 0
loading... Live
Lions 22
Leinster 0
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1818 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1781 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1084 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 461 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 187 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 254 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE