English champions Saracens to be relegated after salary cap rorting scandal
English and European rugby champions Saracens will be relegated at the end of the season for breaching the salary cap rules, marking the downfall of what was the Northern Hemisphere's top club in recent years.
Premiership Rugby, which runs the English top tier, said Saturday that Saracens will finish the current season before being dropped down to the second-level RFU Championship.
The London-based club have won four of the last five English titles and three of the last four European Cup titles.
However, those victories were followed by allegations of rorting the English league's salary cap rules by making payments to companies owned by Saracens players.
Saracens players after winning last year's Premiership Rugby final. Getty
"I acknowledge the club has made errors in the past and we unreservedly apologise for those mistakes," Saracens' new chairman Neil Golding said in a statement released by Premiership Rugby.
"I and the rest of the board are committed to overseeing stringent new governance measures to ensure regulatory compliance going forward."
Premiership Rugby also said it would commission a review of the salary cap system to ensure what CEO Darren Childs called "a level playing field for all clubs in the future."
