The ax fell on Saturday for the Saracens who will be relegated well at the end of the season for a new overshooting of the salary ceiling, relegating the match of European Cup, Sunday, against Racing 92, far in the background. "After dialogue with the Saracens on their compliance with the regulations on the salary-cap (salary ceiling, note), it was decided that the Saracens will be relegated at the end of this season," said the Premiership in a communicated.
An announcement which is only a half-surprise, since the English press evoked Saturday a meeting Friday morning during which the club would have announced to the players and the staff that relegation was inevitable.
Officially, however, the Sarries were still combative at the start of the afternoon, claiming on Twitter that they were "engaged in a constructive dialogue" with the English League (PRL).
On Friday, acting president Edward Griffith also assured that "nothing (had) been finalized yet," said he was still "prepared to do whatever is reasonably necessary" to resolve the problem. But the task still seemed insurmountable for the club which pays for its risky management.
The club in the suburbs of London had been penalized with a withdrawal of 35 points and a fine of more than 6 million euros at the start of the season for having hidden an excess of the payroll during the last three seasons. The authorities had left him until the end of January to get it back under the 7 million pounds (8.4 million euros) regulatory this season.
This meant reducing it by 2 million pounds (2.3 million EUR), but no significant movement was recorded, except that of the announced departure of Welsh international back Liam Williams to the Scarlets, who will only be effective in the summer.
"Inevitable dismantling"
The rivals of the Saracens, annoyed by their overwhelming domination of the last years, and the freedoms taken with the regulation which is imposed on all, had no desire to fly to the rescue of their best enemy, nor to inflate their own mass salary with highly paid internationals. Domestically condemned, will the Saracens still try to defend their continental title against Racing 92 on Sunday?
Qualifying on a quarterback would require success to have a good chance of being among the best qualified second runners. An offensive bonus as a bonus, against Racingmen who already have their ticket in their pockets but want to make sure to play the home quarter, and the final phase would stretch their arms out to them.
But then it would really be a boon of honor because sportingly, the horizon of the Saracens is blocked. Even if they win the European Cup, they could not compete next year if they were relegated, so they would have to wait at least two full seasons before resuming continental competition.
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