Rugby League: Castleford ponder legal action on 'injustice'

Jul 27 2007 by Ian Laybourn, Liverpool Daily Post

CASTLEFORD are considering taking legal action to rectify what they call "one of the biggest injustices in the history of the sport".

The Tigers were relegated from Super League last September after finishing three points below Wigan in the table.

A decision by an independent tribunal to dock the Warriors four points has angered Castleford, whose chief executive Richard Wright criticised the Rugby Football League for failing to act on their claims last October.

Richards says his club feel "cheated" and will discuss their next step at a board meeting early next week.

"We are both devastated and angry," he said. "We fought hard and fairly to retain our place in Super League and gained a record points total for a relegated team.

"In simple terms, a four-point deduction last year would have kept us in Super League."

Wigan were punished – for the second successive season – after over-spending by £222,314 during their battle to avoid relegation.

It is thought the mid-season signing of Great Britain prop Stuart Fielden – a world record £450,000 buy from Bradford – and Australian scrum-half Michael Dobson took them over the limit.

The club attempted to avoid a breach by persuading nine players to defer wages for three months but the tribunal agreed with the League that this was against the spirit of the cap.

"Just one example of how we feel cheated is that we were outbid by Wigan in our efforts to bring Michael Dobson to the club, a player who was hugely influential in their avoiding the drop," added Wright.

"And we would seriously question what punishment is it to Wigan to be deducted four points this year. It seems to us, very little if any at all."

Castleford estimate that relegation cost them well in exess of £1million in lost revenue and they are not guaranteed a quick return to Super League, with Widnes having overtaken them as promotion favourites.

Wright added: "The loss is impossible to quantify. Financially the loss of £800,000 from TV rights was only the starting point. Players had to leave the club and others had to accept pay cuts.

"Yet even worse is the effect on the club itself and our fans. To have to get up off the canvass last October when we knew we had done enough to stay up was tough on everybody.

"Yet this injustice could have been avoided. We asked the RFL to deal with this in October, as everyone knew that this was going to happen.

"Doing so could have avoided what we believe to be one of the biggest injustices in the history of the sport.

"As a club, we will now have to sit down with our legal advisors and determine what steps to take next and will be doing so in the very near future."

Wigan also had two points docked last year for breaching the salary cap in 2005 but won 10 of their last 12 matches to survive.

Castleford themselves received a written caution a year ago for a minor breach and a total of seven Super League clubs have fallen foul of the rules to some extent since the salary cap was introduced in 1998.

From next year it will become virtually impossible to break the rules because the cap will be policed throughout the season by the League, who will constantly monitor clubs’ spending and will have to give the go-ahead for them to make any signings.

Meanwhile St Helens will be without prop forward Jason Cayless for tomorrow’s Carnegie Challenge Cup semi-final after he flew home to Australia following the sudden death of his mother Marlene.

The 27-year-old New Zealand international caught a flight to Sydney yesterday after hearing of the tragic news.

Saints coach Daniel Anderson said: "Naturally, this is a difficult time for the Cayless family and everyone at St Helens RLFC wishes him well for the journey home and sends its utmost sympathies to his family and friends."

Older brother Nathan Cayless, the Parramatta captain, has also been granted indefinite leave by his club, whose players will wear black armbands in Sunday’s NRL match against Manly at Parramatta Stadium.

The news is a major blow to Saints’ hopes of reaching their fifth Cup final in seven years.