Breaking - The 2 point deduction has been moved to a 2 point suspended deduction until March 2020, meaning that Wigan have got their points back and will keep them if they are not naughty boys again - an entirely predictable 'middle ground' outcome. I have no problem with this as long as similar future cases are dealt with in the same way (but we all know they won't)

Pies get their 2 points back...I'm shocked !

obvious they would get them back!

Wow. Just wow.

Quelle surprise !
After an early intervention from Me Elstone, this was NEVER in doubt.
Cheating Pies run rings around the hierarchy of the sport again.

If it was right to dock the points in the first place and NOTHING seems to have come to light to say that the deduction was wrong, WTF is the governing body doing.

It's like "we" are frightened of upsetting them.

Obviously, previous breech of the rules doesn't make any difference.

Trash the cap, hide payments to agents and just carry on.

Come on man it was less than £15k for flights and agent fees


I'm not a Wigan fan but the two point deduction was ridiculous and this punishment makes far more sense.

And to the poster who said "If it was right to dock the points in the first place etc."
Well It obviously wasn't was it?

Be a lot more straightforward if the RFL just awarded Wigan 2 points every time they [ididn't[/i cheat the cap

I guess that’s the point of an appeal process.
My belief is that ANY salary cap breach should result in a points deduction. It’s the only thing clubs take seriously. This precedent has given any club the go-ahead to spend 15k over the cap and only receive a fine (if they are even caught). To some clubs, that will look like an appealing option.
I’d like to see mandatory points deductions that are clearly set out, so if a club breaches the cap by £x, they know how many points they will be deducted and we’ll have a fair and transparent system. I’d be tempted to deduct one point for every 10k over the cap for the first offence, two points for every 10k over the cap for a second offence etc etc etc.

Does anyone think Wigan would have been given 2 points back if they were top of the league?

No, or most other clubs be given them back at all.

Cheat the cap, hide it from the RFL and no punishment? No point having a cap.

Apparently Leeds are struggling to land the prop they want because of salary cap issues, this clears that up, just ignore the cap and get whoever you want. The precedent has been set.

And before anyone preaches about a 'technical breach' all breaches are technical. The salary cap is a hard limit, if you go £15k over it that means you've paid out £15k too much and you don't get to say "Ah, but that was just by accident because of agents fees or bonuses" because it still allowed you to spend £15k on wages that you otherwise wouldn't have been able to.

I was disappointed that three time cheats Wigan were let off with just a 2 point penalty. I'm disgusted that they've been let off completely.

Good for you.

And terrible for the game in this country. Still, Wigan fans don't really care about the game do they, just about Wigan.

The correct decision. To call it a salary cap breach to gain an advantage is simply absurd.

The numbers were so small that deducting points was just way too harsh.

what is the point of having rules

Surely you see the difference in say a club being £100k over the cap which pays annual salaries rather than figures Wigan were declared to be over the cap.

They broke the rules and were punished for that its just a points deduction was deemed to severe.

Not really, no.

question did wigan go over the cap or not yes or no

I'll answer it for you puroresu_boy it was a yes not much but a yes so the rules are a fine and points deduction but wigan being wigan have to bleat on to get they way, if they was a quid over its breaching the cap

the only good thing that has come out of it is leeds are closer to the bottom and shudds are nailed to the bottom

So if you're going 31mph in a 30 zone, you should get the same punishment as going 90 in a 30 zone?

If you were up in court for a 3rd offence you wouldn't get a suspended sentence. If it was drink driving it would matter not how little you were over the limit.....you'd be jailed.

the RFL are now looking into the London v Wigan game to see if the can overturn the result and give them the two points as the only just lost by a close margin

no but when you park on a double yellow expect a fine

Which is why i used an example of a tiered penalty system, which the salary cap is based on...