So Is it Xmas Again?

[Hymenoptera]

So its done..what every fan wanted, the cheats are down, done, dusted. Boom

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/saracens-relegation-has-been-confirmed

[Shugs]

Yes, their arrogance was astounding and they have the the punishment they deserve. The salary cap is a good thing, designed to keep the game sustainable and competitive. To flout it and put the game at risk for personal gain is deserving of being relegated.

[BG]

And now a French club has waded in.

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/french-clubs-want-action-taken-at-european-level-against-saracens

[13thWarrior]

And now a French club has waded in.

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/french-clubs-want-action-taken-at-european-level-against-saracens

"“The eleven English clubs having seen Saracens sanctioned, but 19 European clubs have been fighting for ten years with Sarries to win the European Cup… it is, therefore, a problem that must be resolved,” he said, dismissing the €3million difference between the Top 14 and the Premiership salary cap limit."

Sorry, but what a muppet. You could maybe argue that Saracens should not have been in the cup as they illegally qualified, but being annoyed they are spending more than their compatriots but less than all French teams in the competition is laughable.

[Hymenoptera]

Are they spending less than the French..I have a suspicion they are spending as much. Just shy of 9m plus 2 marquees.
Irrelevant yes, just saying

[Neils]

Surely the point is teams in different leagues have set levels. The best legal teams from those leagues then enter into competition. One team has been found to be cheating their own league for at least six seasons. They have gained entry and seeding to the overarching competition through cheating constantly. The French and anyone else has a right to complain about them gaining entry by fraudulent means.

[Westy68]

I have no idea if this is correct but the french teams have an additional £2m to spend but don’t have Marquee players.

If a marquee player gets say £650 a year then the gap is £700 which is two quality players. Except that’s a lot but surely why can’t the French teams be the same as the PL

[Davidabricot]

Hello, I'm new here. I can bring some explaination of the French situation (I'm French from Castres). Don't worry too much about Lyon or other clubs. Despite many top14 clubs go beyond the salary cap (Racing, Toulon and Montpellier are suspected), few teams will be able to hire Sarries players. Lyon is not as good as it seems. Their ranking this year is mostly due to the world cup. They had really bad games since 1 month.
Also, the French players quota is increasing (well kown as 'JIFF', for players coming from the French academies). So I think that sarries superstars will mostly stay in the UK.

[Rifleman Harris]

Hello, I'm new here. I can bring some explaination of the French situation (I'm French from Castres). Don't worry too much about Lyon or other clubs. Despite many top14 clubs go beyond the salary cap (Racing, Toulon and Montpellier are suspected), few teams will be able to hire Sarries players. Lyon is not as good as it seems. Their ranking this year is mostly due to the world cup. They had really bad games since 1 month.
Also, the French players quota is increasing (well kown as 'JIFF', for players coming from the French academies). So I think that sarries superstars will mostly stay in the UK.

But we don't want them!!

[Davidabricot]

Oh maybe they are not all bad guys. Are we sure that players were aware of the problem? They could get it if they share there salary, but if you don't know how much earn your colleagues, you can't have an idea of the whole amount.

[Neils]

Oh maybe they are not all bad guys. Are we sure that players were aware of the problem? They could get it if they share there salary, but if you don't know how much earn your colleagues, you can't have an idea of the whole amount.

Of course they are all "Bad Guys" they are EAs. I do not believe any of the main squad could sit in the same dressing room as 10-20 full internationals and not wonder how they all got there on £7m. They may not know exactly what they all earned but would know the rough banding (eg Faz & Itchy on £750K, the Vunas on £500+k, Daly etc on £450/500K - doesn't take a maths genius to get to a very high figure).