Saracens decide against appeal as Allianz Park club moves to bottom of Premiership table

Saints are now 36 points ahead of Saracens in the Gallagher Premiership standings after the club from Allianz Park decided not to appeal against Premiership Rugby's punishment.
Saracens are now bottom of the leagueSaracens are now bottom of the league
Saracens are now bottom of the league

Saracens were docked 35 points and fined more than £5.3m for breaching the league's salary cap.

And they have now decided they will not request a review of the decision by the independent disciplinary panel, meaning they move from third, one place below Saints, to bottom of the table, 26 points adrift of 11th-placed Leicester Tigers.

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Darren Childs, chief executive of Premiership Rugby, said: “We welcome Saracens’ decision to accept the verdict of the independent panel and are pleased the club has crucially reaffirmed its commitment to the Premiership Rugby salary cap.

“This is the right outcome for English club rugby. Bringing this process to a conclusion means that we can focus on working in partnership with all clubs to continue to build a competitive and successful league.”

Saracens chairman Nigel Wray said: “We have made mistakes and so, with humility, we must accept these penalties.

"As a club, we will now pull together and meet the challenges that lie ahead.

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“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.”

The charges against Saracens, which relate to seasons 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19, were brought following a nine-month investigation by Premiership Rugby.

In accordance with the salary cap regulations, the charges were referred to the independent dispute service, Sport Resolutions, which appointed a panel chaired by Lord Dyson.

The decision of the independent panel was to uphold all of the charges, finding that Saracens had both failed to disclose payments to players and exceeded the ceiling for payments to senior players in each of the three seasons.

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