St Helens fined for RFL Covid protocol breaches

Correspondent
Totally Wicked Stadium

St Helens have been fined £5,000, of which £1,000 is suspended until the end of the season, for breaches of the Rugby Football League’s Covid protocols.

The punishment follows the reigning Super League champions’ decision to postpone two of their Betfred Super League fixtures in July.

The RFL says the fine is at a low level to reflect their co-operation with its investigation and the unique circumstances following their victory in the Betfred Challenge Cup final at Wembley.

The governing body says they also took into account the fact that both fixtures were home games. This means that St Helens have already suffered a financial penalty through the loss of ticket and commercial revenue.

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St Helens are the fourth Super League club to be fined for breaches of the Covid protocols this season.

Castleford were fined £35,000 (£15,000 of which was suspended for two years) for failing to fulfil a match against St Helens on June 30 and for breaching coronavirus protocols on the return coach journey from the Challenge Cup final.

A subsequent Covid-19 outbreak at the club led to the postponement of additional league games against Catalans Dragons and Leigh.

Huddersfield were handed a £30,000 fine (£15,000 of which was suspended for two years) for failing to fulfil a league match with Castleford in July and Salford were fined £25,000 (£12,500 suspended for one year) following the postponements of matches against Wakefield and Hull.