Premiership: Leicester Tigers fined for salary cap breaches but avoid points deduction
General view of the Mattioli Woods Welford Road during the European Rugby Challenge Cup Semi Final match at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, Leicester. Picture date: Friday April 30, 2021.
Premiership leaders Leicester Tigers have escaped a points deduction despite an investigation concluding that they had failed to comply with salary cap regulations.
The Tigers have been fined £309,841.06 by Premiership Rugby after a third-party company made image rights payments to Leicester players.
They occurred over four seasons between 2016 and 2020, which should have been disclosed as part of the cap.
Spared greater sanction
Leicester have been spared greater sanction due to the salary cap being exceeded by less than the ‘overrun’ limit.
It is when this ceiling, which ranges from £325,000 to £350,000 each season, is breached that formal charges are brought.
Leicester’s highest ‘overrun’ was £147,750.00 in 2016-17 and their total across the four seasons was £391,941.06.
There will be no further disciplinary process or appeal after the Tigers accepted the outcome of the investigation.
In addition to the bulk of the fine, which is termed the ‘overrun’ tax and is calculated according to the amount of the overrun, Leicester have been fined £17,900 for failing to disclose information about the arrangements.
Only Saracens have been fined more after they were relegated two seasons ago for repeated salary cap breaches.
Premiership Rugby has acted using the strengthened powers introduced following a review of the salary cap regulations in 2020 that was conducted in the wake of the Saracens case.
“The review of salary cap regulations provided stronger powers to monitor spending and investigate possible breaches of the cap in past seasons,” salary cap director Andrew Rogers said.
“Leicester have cooperated with my investigation and accepted the findings, which allows us to apply the sanctions detailed in the regulations.
“While we are satisfied that the arrangements which resulted in the overspend have been brought to an end, we will continue to assess all spending as part of our ongoing monitoring process at every club.”
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