Saracens: Premiership club should be relegated over salary cap breaches, suggests Exeter chief Tony Rowe

Saracens were given a 35-point deduction and fined more than £5 million on Tuesday over salary cap breaches

Exeter Chiefs chief executive Tony Rowe has suggested that Saracens should be relegated over their breaches of the salary cap.

Saracens were fined £5 million and given a 35-point deduction, although both sanctions are suspended pending the conclusion of the club’s appeal.

Exeter have lost the Gallagher Premiership final to Saracens in each of the last two seasons, and Rowe believes the penalties are not harsh enough.

“We, for a number of years, have suspected they’ve been infringing the salary cap,” he told BBC Radio Devon.

“But I don’t think the penalty is severe enough. You take away 35 points this year – they could still be in the semi-finals and could still end up at Twickenham (in the final).”

Asked what he felt would be a more appropriate punishment, Rowe replied: ”Relegation – in professional sport in America, if you’re in breach of the salary cap you get thrown out completely.”

Saracens yesterday described the fine and points deduction as “heavy-handed”, and confirmed they would be appealing all findings made by an independent disciplinary panel.

The panel found that the club failed to disclose payments to players in each of the last three seasons, and exceeded the ceiling for payments to senior players in all three years, too. Salary cap regulations stipulate that a points deduction can only be levied in the current (2019/20) season.

Rowe, whose Chiefs lost last year’s final by just three points, says he has been left with a “nasty taste” in his mouth.

“It’s the management that have totally flouted the rules and regulations, which has enabled them to put a squad on the pitch that we couldn’t match,” he said.

“I feel a bit bitter about it because we were only just beaten. I’m not blaming the (Saracens) players, you can’t blame the players.

“It leaves a bit of a nasty taste in my mouth. If you’re in sport and you get beaten fair and square that’s fine, but then to find out that your opponents have actually cheated, it’s not good.”

Along with back-to-back Premiership titles, Saracens have also lifted two of the last three European Champions Cups.