What sanctions could Salford Red Devils receive in RFL investigation?

Salford Red Devils will be subject to a Rugby Football League investigation after the governing body confirmed it would look into whether or not the club’s team selection against St Helens brought the sport into disrepute.

The Red Devils were subject to a huge media storm after they decided to send their reserves to the Saints for the opening round of the season, in a game live on the BBC. It prompted a furious reaction from pundits and senior figures within the sport.

Salford had the ability to select from the players who featured the previous week against Midlands Hurricanes, a side which included a plethora of their first-team stars.

But with Paul Rowley and his staff deciding to go with the reserves, it has resulted in the governing body announcing they will be conducting an investigation. If found guilty and it is deemed the club did indeed bring rugby league into disrepute, the club will be subject to some level of punishment.

But what could that be?

First and foremost, it is important to stress that at this stage, Salford have not been found guilty of anything. The RFL’s job is to take the noise out of the situation – of which there is plenty – and look at the facts.

If the Red Devils can present a compelling case as to why they felt their best plan of action was to send their entire reserve team and name only 16 players, there may be no sanctions at all.

But that does appear to feel increasingly unlikely. After all, the RFL would not have launched an investigation had they felt there was grounds to look into the matter.

The RFL, if they find Salford guilty, have a whole heap of sanctions they can impose on the club. First and foremost, they will be fined: the game’s operational rules dictates that a fine of £5,000 if they are deemed to have not played a full strength team in a competitive fixture (section B1:10).

Governing body rules state the rules surrounding full strength must ensure the integrity of each match and the game in general. There appears to be a strong case for Salford falling foul of that here.

But it doesn’t end there.

They could then also be subject to sporting sanctions. The RFL definite sporting sanctions as recommended where there has been an impact or potential impact on the integrity of the competition.

That could be a whole host of things. A reprimand, a fine, or even a points deduction – though it has been stressed to Love Rugby League that the latter of those would be extremely unlikely in this situation.

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