Top clubs may fight salary cap in court

The legality of Premiership Rugby’s salary cap is set to be challenged under European Union competition law, according to a leading club insider.
Emboldened by London Welsh‘s recent success in challenging the RFU’s Minimum Standards Criteria (MSC) relating to primacy of tenure, which saw the Exiles promoted from the Championship after initially being rejected, The Rugby Paper understands that other Premiership clubs are considering breaking ranks in order to bring an end to long-standing wage restrictions.
Until now the 12 Premiership clubs have signed up to an agreement which limits the amount they can spend annually on players (currently £4.5m) on the basis that it helps maintain a level-playing and ensures the English top-flight remains competitive throughout.
But some clubs believe the cap is unenforceable under EU law and that it prevents them from achieving their full potential.
Leicester Tigers, for example, have cited a relative lack of spending power for their failure to keep pace with cash-rich Irish and French sides in Europe, while Saracens and Bath have also questioned why investment in players should be restricted.
A successful challenge to the cap would wreck Premiership Rugby’s egalitarian principles and potentially push some less well-off clubs towards bankruptcy, but that may not prevent more ambitious clubs from taking their case to court.
One concerned Premiership club official told The Rugby Paper: “I think the London Welsh ruling could pull down the walls in a lot of different areas, not just those relating to the MSC, and that’s because a precedent has now been set.
“A lot of money was spent on the MSC, putting it through solicitors and taking legal opinion, but it didn’t hold up when challenged and the London Welsh issue potentially puts everything else up for challenge, including the salary cap.
“That’s certainly challengeable, as is the share distribution between founder Premiership clubs and non-founder members. It’s all challengeable now.
“The salary cap could get challenged by three or four clubs that want to open it up, particularly if they’ve got deep pockets, and I wouldn’t be surprised if those clubs are already in discussions about what moves to make.”
Meanwhile, as discussions over the Premiership’s stadium criteria rumble on, London Scottish chief executive Tony Copsey has dismissed the RFU’s recently agreed funding deal with the Championship clubs as “laughable”.
Championship sides will receive £345,000 in central funding this season, rising to £380,000 in 2015-16, but Copsey insists much more needs doing to enable second tier clubs to aspire to Premiership standards.
Copsey, who as managing director of Harlequins helped oversee the transformation of the Twickenham Stoop, said: “Everyone gets wrapped up in promotion and relegation and primacy of tenure, but Premiership Rugby are trying to nudge up standards to produce a first-class product – and you can’t criticise that too much.
“Rugby should be applauded for standing on its own two feet, but the Championship’s deal with the RFU barely keeps pace with inflation.
“It’s pretty laughable, and when you look at the money the RFU is spending on Sevens and the like, I just don’t think they take the Championship seriously.”
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