I'm not sure that the players are at fault here, to be fair. Unless they're studying to be lawyers after they hang up their boots, they wouldn't have looked into this with a qualified eye. They will have been told by the club/Wray that this was all hunky-dorey & had no reason to doubt those assurances.

I would say that Wray should be forced to resign & be barred from being the backer of any sports team again. This is the second time* where he's flouted the regulations in pursuit of silverware & titles. That surely is the mark of someone not meeting a "fit & proper person" test.

*Yes, I know that technically Sarries & Bath weren't guilty last time because they paid a "settlement fee", but the other club boards, chairmen & CEOs know what happened & know what Wray did last time. I have a feeling that's why they're being more open & vocal about it now. They thought that they'd managed to tamp it down last time only for Wray to decide to thumb his nose at all the other clubs & carry on with his financial doping.

Each individual player will have no idea where the overall salary cap stands and the Club are not about to tell him.

Are you saying no player has wondered how so many internationals can play for one club? are you saying they all think they are being paid more than everyone else?

Why financial regulation is key to the future of pro rugby

Trevor Watkins, global head of sport at international law firm Pinsent Masons, runs the rule over Saracens’ massive fine and points deduction for salary cap infringements and suggests relegation may be been even more effective.

Also, it is plausible that the player may assume it is as rife at other clubs as blood capsules were...

Also, it is plausible that the player may assume it is as rife at other clubs as blood capsules were...

 I cannot believe that. The Cheats were buying up every international going. Other clubs were not doing that.

Why financial regulation is key to the future of pro rugby

Trevor Watkins, global head of sport at international law firm Pinsent Masons, runs the rule over Saracens’ massive fine and points deduction for salary cap infringements and suggests relegation may be been even more effective.

Excellent little article. Excerpt:

"Saracens have said they’ll appeal. Most likely seeking to challenge the rules themselves on the basis that they are anti-competitive; it’s an argument that has been made before and is increasingly one deployed to challenge decisions of sporting bodies. We’ve used it ourselves five or six times to overturn similar situations. However, to do so the club would need to demonstrate that the rules themselves either did not have a legitimate aim or even if they did were disproportionate."

Assuming this is what happens, and assuming further that Wray is successful in arguing in court (I assume he'd have to go to court to do this) that the rules are anti-competitive, won't that simply make him and Saracens even more of a pariah? Then the other clubs would/should refuse to play them. Then Wray would have to go back into court to make them play them. And so it goes on, and all the while Wray is dragging the good name of rugby through the mud. 

One option might be to make players accountable for financial disclosure. If they each disclose their income and tax position confidentially to the cap commissioner, it makes it much harder for a club to hide any irregularities.

A player won't be penalised for full disclosure, but could be for withholding information.

I don't see how a salary cap can be deemed anti competitive. It's a commercial arrangement between peers that is designed to ensure the competitiveness and financial sustainability of all of them. If caps hold in the US, then I can't imagine any other jurisdiction being tougher on them.

I believe they can be deemed anti-competitive if you have been cheating them for years in order to win trophies  :)