Saracens officially relegated from Premiership

One of Europe’s most high profile clubs has been dumped from the English Premiership. In an unprecedented decision, Premiership Rugby today confirmed that Saracens will be relegated at the conclusion of the 2019-2020 season due to continual breaches in the salary cap.

The club had already been hit with a multi-million dollar fine and docked 35 points on the Premiership table after an investigation found the team had overspent in three prior seasons. They were also forced to submit a mid-season report to Premiership Rugby, an unusual step with expenditures not typically evaluated until after the season. That report proved damning, with their player wages said to be well beyond the limit once again and no way to offload players as severance pay also counts towards the cap.

According to Exeter Chiefs top executive Tony Rowe, who spoke to the BBC, Saracens were given the option to submit to a further ‘forensic audit’ or accept relegation, with the club opting for the latter. Rowe also added fuel to speculation that there could be more sanctions on the way, stating: “There is still some more to come out and I’m not privy to talk about that at the moment.”

It’s a remarkable fall from grace for a club that have claimed the Premiership title in four of the past five years and won the Champions Cup three times in that span. In dropping from the Premiership, the team will be ousted from the top level of European Rugby as well for at least the next two seasons.

What will become of the star-studded roster is another question. There are currently 26 full internationals at the club including three from the Americas – US Eagles pair Titi Lamositele and Kapeli Pifeleti, and Pumas prop Juan Figallo. The latter is certain to depart, and likely before the end of the season. The fate of the other two is yet to be seen.

Saracens will be allowed to continue in the Premiership for the rest of this season and, remarkably, could still win the Champions Cup this season though they must first qualify for the Quarter Finals with an enormous interest against Racing 92 tomorrow.

With relegation certain, clubs who would otherwise have been on the brink of the drop can now breathe a massive sigh of relief. Leicester Tigers and Wasps, themselves giants of the English game, were facing the unthinkable with London Irish also near the bottom of the table.

Few will hold sympathy after such brazen behavior and Saracens have shown little if any contrition, further angering Premiership stakeholders. A formal statement has yet to emerge from the club with their social media simply reading as follows:

“In light of recent media reports, the Club confirms it is engaged in constructive dialogue with PRL. We are unable to pass further comment at this time.”