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#Post#: 36781--------------------------------------------------
Salary Cap Report released
DIR By: Fearless Fred
Date: January 23, 2020, 5:39 am
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It's available HERE
HTML https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/fa097ce0-fc01-4b01-bbb0-e147ffa67de6.pdf
#Post#: 36783--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salary Cap Report released
DIR By: Bolly-Quin
Date: January 23, 2020, 5:42 am
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--- Quote from: Fearless Fred link ---
>
> It's available HERE
HTML https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/fa097ce0-fc01-4b01-bbb0-e147ffa67de6.pdf
>
--- End Quote ---
When you've read and digested it, FF, I take it you'll be
publishing a précis, say, after lunch? ;)
#Post#: 36791--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salary Cap Report released
DIR By: Fearless Fred
Date: January 23, 2020, 6:01 am
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Well, it appears (so far) that saracens primary contention in
the November case was that the Cap was contrary to Competition
Law. That was shot down comprehensibly. There are some comments
where the panel verbally wrap sarries knuckles for some of their
evidence (one bit where their previous CEO basically "copied his
homework" from Griffiths statement in the 2015 case and another
where sarries tried to say that McCafferty's evidence was to be
discarded as biased but the panel were firm that the evidence
was truthful and full when compared to sarries!).
#Post#: 36793--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salary Cap Report released
DIR By: JammyGit
Date: January 23, 2020, 6:13 am
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Note that the leaked version claimed the 2017-18 breach was a
lot lower than what is actually true... endless disinformation
coming from Sarries
#Post#: 36796--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salary Cap Report released
DIR By: raedarius
Date: January 23, 2020, 6:14 am
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Looks like we now have the issue of the size of the undeclared
sum rather than simply how far over the cap they were. Hadn't
thought of that.
#Post#: 36802--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salary Cap Report released
DIR By: Fish Quin
Date: January 23, 2020, 7:11 am
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A few things stand out to me. Confirmation that Sarries were in
breach in 2014 and it was swept under the carpet. Also,the
minimum fine and points deduction was imposed despite
Premiership Rugby wanting to impose both 35 point deductions
together and the fact that Sarries were guilty of just about
every offence related to increasing the sanction above what is
stated. They were lucky.
I still feel like this is just the tip of the iceberg. The fact
that Sarries have since taken relegation against opening their
books to a forensic audit for the last 3 years suggests
Premiership Rugby and Sarries both think there is more to be
uncovered. The. There is the question of this season, they are
undoubtedly over the cap again, will they be investigated again
and docked 35 points in the championship? Do Premiership Rugby
have that power?
There is also a clause that allows for Prem Rugby to impose a
reduced salary cap on teams that do not comply, which I was not
aware of. Will Sarries be forced to operate under a reduced cap
for a few seasons to ‘balance’ the books?
Finally, this report highlights just how complicated the salary
cap is to manage, and just how easy it must be to
circumnavigate. That is why it is essential that all clubs can
be trusted to operate with honesty and integrity. Two values
seemingly alien to Saracens.
#Post#: 36805--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salary Cap Report released
DIR By: ah306
Date: January 23, 2020, 7:27 am
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I'm not a lawyer and I understand that terms in a legal context
can have a stricter definition than how they are often used in
normal conversation but i'm struggling with their definition of
"deliberate".
Saracens concealed information from and obstructed the work of
the salary cap manager, devised convoluted structures to
transfer value to players and chose not seek (freely available)
advise from the salary cap manager as to whether those
structures constitute salary as defined by the regulations. All
of this, in the context of having been warned about their
practices in 2015, was somehow not a deliberate attempt to
circumvent the salary cap.
I'm also not sold on their justification for reducing the points
sanction from 70 to 35 (or as they characterise it two
concurrent 35 points deductions) because it would be unduly
harsh to effectively condemn them to relegation. In my view the
damage they have done more than justifies relegation. In
addition it seems to me relegation is the only way to compel the
break-up of the squad which, as it is the product of persistent
cheating over probably the last decade, is necessary to allow
the premiership to be a fair competition moving forward.
I suppose, now that things have moved on and they are going to
be relegated it doesn't matter but there still seems to be a lot
of question marks. They chose not to open their books for a
forensic audit which suggests they are still hiding things. It
looks like the the case against them was built around certain
deals made with a handful of players. Perhaps these were all the
suspect deals but this doesn't really tally with the rumuors
that have been going around or even the statement from Brendan
Ventner that suggested loads of players were encouraged to "go
and talk to Nigel". Is it possible that the PRL case against
Saracens identified a few of the largest and/or easiest to
prosecute examples in the expectation that they would be
sufficient to warrant a meaningful penalty?
#Post#: 36806--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salary Cap Report released
DIR By: harlequins
Date: January 23, 2020, 7:32 am
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From a quick review,
16/17 - over by £1.135M
18/19 - over by £906K
Also Saracens failed to:-
- disclose documents
- co-operate in the investigation
Saracens started off saying having a cap was in breach of euro
law, was anti-competitive, was not actually agreed. Saracens
also attacked the ex PRL CEO McCafferty when he gave evidence of
apparently being biased against Saracens. This was not accepted.
Saracens also said the English players are being kept 'captive'
in England through the RFU point of having to play in England. I
could not see how this was really part of their excuses to over
pay and it was disregarded anyway.
The names of players are hidden but based on the Sky
information, it looks like Itoje was the main recipient of the
over payments to a level of getting on for £1M of hidden salary.
As is stated in the report re not disclosing documents and
Saracens refusal to be further audited, it certainly appears as
if this is just the tip of the iceberg and there are more hidden
payments to other players going back over the last few years.
Personally I would not allow them to play in any league until
they open up their books, are actually transparent and stop
seeming to use every means to hide what they are doing.
#Post#: 36807--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salary Cap Report released
DIR By: Fearless Fred
Date: January 23, 2020, 7:34 am
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McCafferty was the PRL CEO, not saracens CEO.
#Post#: 36808--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salary Cap Report released
DIR By: harlequins
Date: January 23, 2020, 7:34 am
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--- Quote from: Fearless Fred link ---
>
> McCafferty was the PRL CEO, not saracens CEO.
>
--- End Quote ---
Thanks - my error. I will update...
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