Premiership champions Saracens will be relegated at the end of the 2019-20 season for salary cap breaches, the league announced on Saturday.
Saracens were deducted 35 points in this season’s league table and fined £5.3 million in November after an independent disciplinary panel said Saracens failed to disclose player payments in each of the last three seasons.
The club, who were required to prove compliance within the salary cap, will continue to compete in the Premiership through to the end of the season but will play in next term’s Championship.
“Premiership Rugby is prepared to take strong action to enforce the regulations governing fair competition between our clubs,” Premiership Rugby CEO Darren Childs said in a statement.
“At the conclusion of dialogue with Saracens about their compliance with the Salary Cap Regulations, it has been decided that Saracens will be relegated at the end of this season.
“We want to ensure a level playing field for all clubs in the future.
“As part of this process, we will soon be announcing an open consultation so that everyone involved in the game has the opportunity to contribute to its future.
“The actions that we have taken — dealing with breaches of the current regulations and reviewing the system for the future – will help us to build a stronger league and uphold the confidence of supporters.”
“As the new Chairman of Saracens I acknowledge the club has made errors in the past and we unreservedly apologise for those mistakes,” Saracens CEO Neil Golding said. “I and the rest of the Board are committed to overseeing stringent new governance measures to ensure regulatory compliance going forward.”
In December, Premiership Rugby announced a comprehensive independent review aimed at strengthening its salary cap regulations in wake of the scandal.
The salary cap was introduced in 1999 to ensure the financial viability of clubs in the league and also provide a level playing field.
Saracens sit at the bottom of the Premiership with -7 points after eight matches, 18 points from the safety zone.