@hugh_woatmeighhugh_woatmeigh wrote:Can anyone give me cliff notes? As a Scot I'm not across every little detail but I have to admit I'm struggling to follow this.
Abstract:
March 2019, Saracen's knew they had been busted, and what any punishments would be (they enshrined in PRL regulations) and could have got ahead of it in plenty of times without any problems. They recruit a couple of new international players instead.
October 2019, Saracen's know unequivocally what the punishment is, what further punishments will be applied in January, and what they have to do to avoid that.
They make public pronouncements of innocence, and do nothing at all to meet the conditions.
December 2019, They start actually doing something, but far too little, and now too late, still look like they're going to fight.
January 2020, Relegation is confirmed.
A little more detail
March 2019 a story broke about a co-investment scheme whereby Nigel Wray put more money into businesses set up alongside some Saracen's players whilst being a minor stakeholder in said company. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugby ... stars.html
April 2019 PRL investigated. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/47889182
September 2019 PRL handed everything over to independent investigators as it was too big to be handled in-house. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugby ... -case.html
October 2019 Independent commission reports back to PRL with decisions made on punishments etc, but kept under wraps until after the RWC "as Premiership clubs don't want to disrupt England's bid for glory". https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugby ... p-bid.html
November 2019 This was announced as a 35 point reduction, and £5.4M fine (unannounced was another 35-69 point reduction available, but kept as a suspended sentence as Saracen's had agreed to get themselves under the cap by mid-January 2020). https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/50300756
November 2019 Saracen's insist that they've done nothing wrong, the investigation is wrong, they're going to fight it (despite telling PRL in private that they've done it and will do what needs to be done by mod-January).
Essentially, they decided to play chicken with PRL, assuming that they'd back down and let them get away with it again. Doing this means that they play pretty much everyone, and make no attempt to reduce their salary bill, meaning that it's later impossible under contract law.
November 2019 Saracen’s admit that the co-investments were wrong, insist that they’re in the past, and that there are no problems going forward, and that they are already cap compliant. They drop the appeal.
December 2019 Wray stepps down as CEO, in adherence with PRL demands, some top litigation lawyer is brought in by the club.
January 2020 the mid-January date arrived, the day after Wray steps down as a director, and Eddie G (new CEO) admits that they simply can't get under the cap - because they'd spent the previous 10 weeks pretending they didn't have to, and had left it too late.
January 2020, Saracen's given the options of submitting to a forensic examination of their accounts, or being relegated, they choose relegation as the more desirable.
Sorry, only 5 links allowed per post.
