View Full Version : Salary cap breach - Rugby League
LINK - Clubs to face salary cap hearings (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/6261284.stm)
A number of Super League clubs will be summoned to hearings this week to explain possible infringements of the salary cap last season.
LINK - Castleford relegated because Wigan broke the salary cap allegedly. (http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport?articleid=2998611)
The Rugby Football League will confirm on Thursday that Wigan Warriors overspent on players for a second successive year, in 2006, when they secured their Super League status with a massive recruitment drive.
What's your views on Wigan allegedly breaking the salary cap and being able to buy themselves out of relegation and in so doing sending Castleford down into national league one.
If they broke the rules then they should be fined and docked enough points to make sure they cannot escape relegation this time. Especially if it has happened for the last 2 seasons.
They will get fined and get a 4 to 12 point deduction, but the points deduction will come off this season and they will have escaped relegation last season by overspending and in doing so Castleford who were just behind them in the league got relegated.
Wigan also bought a player that Castleford were trying to buy. The thing is that Wigan offered him a very big payment and so he went to Wigan instead of Castleford.
BTW they (RFL) have changed the rules as of next year, so that this can't happen again.
Shadow Demon UK
04-07-2007, 10:41
If i remember rightly Wigan were a good few points ahead of castleford at the end of the season and were closer to being in the playoffs than being relegated. You could argue that its the RFL's fault for allowing things like this to happen and have now finally realised this and changed the rules for next season.
Here's the 2006 RL league table : -
St Helens 48 pts
Hull FC 40 pts
Leeds Rhinos 38 pts
Bradford Bulls 34 pts
Salford City Reds 26 pts
Warrington Wolves 26 pts
Harlequins RL 23 pts
Wigan Warriors 22 pts
Huddersfield Giants 22 pts
Wakefield Trinity 20 pts
Castleford Tigers 19 pts
Catalans Dragons 16 pts *Exempt from relegation*
*Wigan deducted two points for salary cap breach the year before*
So you could say that Wigan had more points before they had the 2 points removed.
Is Wigan still owned by Dave Whelan, the same person who kicked up a fuss about West Ham not having points docked? ;)
Can't wait to read what his view is... ;)
Yup, Dave Whelan owns Wigan RLFC.
;)
It's a sorry state of affairs when a team that doesn't cheat and gets relegated, loses the Sky TV money, loses most of it's players and now has smaller gates with less money because another team allegedly cheated.
BTW another good read is here (http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22017817-5006066,00.html)
BRITISH rugby league authorities are poised to fire a landmark shot across the bows of big-spending Super League clubs by handing down massive salary cap penalties.
Shadow Demon UK
04-07-2007, 18:44
It's a sorry state of affairs when a team that doesn't cheat and gets relegated, loses the Sky TV money, loses most of it's players and now has smaller gates with less money because another team allegedly cheated.
But Castleford also went over the salary cap last season as said in that BBC report, so it could be argued that they should have been docked points last season also, but they weren't for some reason and were only given a written warning. The RFL has been in a mess for a few years now and needs to sort itself out, you can't dock points off Wigan and Bradford and just forget about St. Helens, Hull, Castleford and Wakefield who also broke the rules and in your words 'cheated'.
I think it's down to the degree that the cap is broken. Cas made a small error and went over the cap a little bit. Wigan went way over the cap.
:shocked:
It's like one club over spent by a few quid and the other over spent by enough for the RFL to have to dock them points.
:shocked:
The 2006 season Castleford only had a small squad and no way did they even reach the cap, never mind go over it !
Bradford, St Helens & Wigan
RFL have confirmed three clubs have cases to answer. bulls and saints are to have their hearing thursday 12th july, wigan monday 16th july.
:Yikes:
Shadow Demon UK
06-07-2007, 10:46
Bradford, St Helens & Wigan
RFL have confirmed three clubs have cases to answer. bulls and saints are to have their hearing thursday 12th july, wigan monday 16th july.
:Yikes:
Oh dear, Wigan are screwed, it wouldn't suprise me if they get the full 12 point deduction seeing that they have a seperate hearing date to the other teams :(
Jimofwigan
06-07-2007, 15:46
LINK - Clubs to face salary cap hearings (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/6261284.stm)
LINK - Castleford relegated because Wigan broke the salary cap allegedly. (http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport?articleid=2998611)
What's your views on Wigan allegedly breaking the salary cap and being able to buy themselves out of relegation and in so doing sending Castleford down into national league one.
This blog is full of comments by people with very short memories
St Helens have breached the salary cap three times they are serial offenders.
Bradford were guilty of breaching the salary cap. Both these sides hammered Castleford Wakefield were guity of breaching the salary cap and not even punished. Castleford were guilty of breaching the salary cap when they gained promotion from NL1 ---- What did Whitehaven & Leigh say about that?
Wigan was the only club last season to get permision off the Rugby League to make the signings it did, Why did they get approval to make Fielding a Wigan player? Answer after they had audited the books we were not in an overspend situation.All is not clear. The only certainty is that those who breach the rules should be punished and serial offenders like St Helens need to ask is their position as No1 CLUB down to their overspend.
Looks to me like Wigan robbed us, got found out and will face the music, but Castleford don't even get an apology.
I suppose Wigan will have to have the chance to explain their spending before action will be taken.
Shadow Demon UK
06-07-2007, 20:06
Well it seems Wigan feel they havn't done too much wrong -
Wigan insist they have acted "honestly and reasonably" after being charged with breaching salary cap rules.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/6277634.stm
TheDaddy
07-07-2007, 08:37
Well it seems Wigan feel they havn't done too much wrong -
Considering how honest Dave ran his business, thats no shock
wigan got special dispensation to go over the salary cap one year as they had previously signed players on contracts ,wigan broke the cap another year,wigan again broke the cap last year........they deserve to be hammered by the rfl
st helens have broken the salary cap 3 times too and they also deserve to be hammered by the rfl
without checking bradford have broken the cap at least twice,they too deserve to be hammered by the rfl for it......
three of the 'big 4 teams' have broken the salary cap more than once,who says crime doesnt pay???????????
wigan got special dispensation to go over the salary cap one year as they had previously signed players on contracts ,wigan broke the cap another year,wigan again broke the cap last year........they deserve to be hammered by the rfl
st helens have broken the salary cap 3 times too and they also deserve to be hammered by the rfl
without checking bradford have broken the cap at least twice,they too deserve to be hammered by the rfl for it......
three of the 'big 4 teams' have broken the salary cap more than once,who says crime doesnt pay???????????
I personally want to see clubs pay this time, Especially if they have done it before.
I personally want to see clubs pay this time, Especially if they have done it.
me too but do you think the rfl have the b*lls to do it,cos i dont:mad:
Jimofwigan
08-07-2007, 16:30
Looks to me like Wigan robbed us, got found out and will face the music, but Castleford don't even get an apology.
I suppose Wigan will have to have the chance to explain their spending before action will be taken.
Castleford should not of been promoted if your attitude was applied to the judgement. You cheated by overspending to get out of NL1.Whiehaven or Leigh should of been promoted. Real life is not like that.
Shadow Demon UK
12-07-2007, 19:43
It's been anounced that if any of the clubs are found guilty they will be punished by last seasons rules and not this seasons, therefore the points deductions that all clubs could get will be 2, 4 or 6 points rather than double that because the rules were broken last year and not this year. This is a huge relief to all the clubs but especially Wigan as it has been reported that it was looking likely that they would get the maximum 12 point penalty but now it will only be half of that.
It's been anounced that if any of the clubs are found guilty they will be punished by last seasons rules and not this seasons, therefore the points deductions that all clubs could get will be 2, 4 or 6 points rather than double that because the rules were broken last year and not this year. This is a huge relief to all the clubs but especially Wigan as it has been reported that it was looking likely that they would get the maximum 12 point penalty but now it will only be half of that.
Even 6 will give them a hard time.
Shadow Demon UK
12-07-2007, 21:13
Even 6 will give them a hard time.
But not as much as 12 would have ;)
If they were given a 12 point deduction they would be in the relegation battle, with just a 6 point deduction they will still be in with a chance of getting into the playoffs imo.
St. Helens have had their hearing and have only been fined a small amount and not deducted points, they must have only just gone over the salary cap last year.
---------- Post added at 21:13 ---------- Previous post was at 20:13 ----------
Bradford have been deducted 2 points - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/6896583.stm
Bradford 2 points and costs.
Saints get a small fine and Bradford get 2 points deducted. I don't hold out much hope for Wigan getting anything bigger than the other two clubs.
:mad:
The system stinks. The RFL didn't have the bottle to play by the rules all the superleague teams agreed to and didn't do anything about repeat offenders.
The panel found that the St Helens club had breached the Salary Cap by 0.8 per cent.
The panel found that the Bradford Bulls club had breached the Salary Cap by 4 per cent.
Shadow Demon UK
13-07-2007, 08:08
Saints get a small fine and Bradford get 2 points deducted. I don't hold out much hope for Wigan getting anything bigger than the other two clubs.
:mad:
The system stinks. The RFL didn't have the bottle to play by the rules all the superleague teams agreed to and didn't do anything about repeat offenders.
They did have the bottle to play the rules but St. Helens and Wigan found a loophole in the rules which meant that they would be charged under last seasons rules, which imo is fair as thats when they broke the rules. From now on the new rules (the larger point deduction) will be used. I expect Wigan to get the maximum 6 point deduction when they have their hearing.
Would anyone like to sign this :-
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/RL-Salary-Cap/
Castleford Tigers were unfairly relegated due to Wigan Warriors breach of the salary cap in the 2006 season.
Shadow Demon UK
13-07-2007, 18:46
Would anyone like to sign this :-
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/RL-Salary-Cap/
Castleford Tigers were unfairly relegated due to Wigan Warriors breach of the salary cap in the 2006 season.
Is there one for Whiehaven and Leigh who didn't get into the super league because Castleford broke the salary cap?
Is there one for Whiehaven and Leigh who didn't get into the super league because Castleford broke the salary cap?
And Cas didn't get points deducted because they only just went over the cap. It was a Cas admin error. It's not as though Cas broke the cap to make sure they won promotion. Wigan on the other hand over spent because they were almost sure to be relegated without the injection of a top class player. They cheated to stay in superleague !
An independent RFL Tribunal has found Wigan Warriors guilty of breaching the 2006 Super League Salary Cap.
The panel found that the Wigan Warriors club had breached the Salary Cap by £222,314 (6.3 per cent.) That's a quarter a million pounds.
That's 4 points deducted + costs.
I hope the Castleford BOD have the guts to stand up and be counted now. They should start with a strongly worded letter to the RFL. Then think about taking them to court.
A friend of mine is livid about this and thinks Wigan have been made scape goats ?. I have been following this closely myself and Wigan deserve everything they got and more. Lets see if they try it again next year :).
Shadow Demon UK
26-07-2007, 10:55
The club's argument was based on the fact that nine of their players agreed to defer wages for last September, October and November in returned for improved contracts in 2007. However, the panel said that was against the spirit of the salary cap.
The spirit of the salary cap? What the hell is the spirit of the salary cap? If you ask me Wigan have most definately been made scape goats as they always seem to be by the RFL, any other club would have been let off in my opinion.
TheDaddy
26-07-2007, 11:10
The spirit of the salary cap? What the hell is the spirit of the salary cap? If you ask me Wigan have most definately been made scape goats as they always seem to be by the RFL, any other club would have been let off in my opinion.
They went without pay to bring them under the salary cap and were then rewarded for it later, conspiracy, bribery and blatant dishonesty, how could it have been any worse?
Shadow Demon UK
26-07-2007, 11:24
They went without pay to bring them under the salary cap and were then rewarded for it later, conspiracy, bribery and blatant dishonesty, how could it have been any worse?
They didn't actually breach the salary cap though did they? The hearing wasn't about conspiracies or being dishonest, it was about breaking the rules which Wigan didn't do.
TheDaddy
26-07-2007, 11:27
They didn't actually breach the salary cap though did they? The hearing wasn't about conspiracies or being dishonest, it was about breaking the rules which Wigan didn't do.
Unbelievable, the only reason they didn't was because they resorted to the aforementioned under hand tactics, hence the spirit of the cap comment
Shadow Demon UK
26-07-2007, 11:34
But surely if some players were not paid in 2006 to keep under the salary cap they will be paid this year for last season, it doesn't make much difference, there's nothing in the rules that says they can't do this, surely it would mean theres more chance of Wigan going over the salary cap again this year.
TheDaddy
26-07-2007, 11:45
But surely if some players were not paid in 2006 to keep under the salary cap they will be paid this year for last season, it doesn't make much difference, there's nothing in the rules that says they can't do this, surely it would mean theres more chance of Wigan going over the salary cap again this year.
Your right, it only makes a difference if you want the cap to work, it only makes a difference if you don't want teams to dishonestly try and manipulate it whilst others stick to it
Your right, it only makes a difference if you want the cap to work, it only makes a difference if you don't want teams to dishonestly try and manipulate it whilst others stick to it
Hear Hear, the most upsetting thing is the fact that the points deduction won't be enough to see them relegated. :rolleyes:
Wigan have been through the legal process now and have been found guilty and the punishment has been applied. It should be double though due to braking the cap two years on the trot.
Castleford should now talk to the RFL and get legal advice. Not about taking action against Wigan, but we do have a strong case against the RFL.
If you remember, Steve Ferres and Richard Wright asked the RFL to look into the signings of both Dobson and Fielden at the time and were told that Wigans books were looked at and everything was OK. Look at how it's turned out !
Also Cas wanted Dobson, but Wigan offered lots more money.
Lets face it, Wigan Cheated and Castleford (who played by the rules) got relegated.
Shadow Demon UK
15-09-2007, 14:02
Well it seems the four point deduction didn't really affect Wigan too much. They made the playoffs last night in 6th place after a great game against St. Helens. Looking forward to some good playoff games now :tu:
vBulletin® v3.8.11, Copyright ©2000-2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.