Saracens sanction all eight players involved in Barbarians’ breach of Covid-19 protocols

Alex Lewington was among the Barbarians players punished for breaching Covid-19 protocols
Getty Imagesfor Barbarians

Saracens say they have internally charged all eight of their players who broke lockdown rules while away with the Barbarians.

The incident, which dates back to October, led to the Barbarians’ game with England being cancelled and cost the RFU an estimated £1million.

The RFU have now punished the 13 players involved, but Saracens have also imposed their own sanctions on eight members of their squad.

“The club felt it was important that we implemented our own set of sanctions ahead of the RFU Disciplinary Hearing so that the players involved were very clear on the severity of their actions and the negative impact they have had on the club and our supporters,” said Saracens board member Lucy Wray.

“In considering these sanctions we looked to other professional sports and professional sports clubs who have experienced similar breaches of Covid-19 protocols.

“The club have now implemented these sanctions, which are consistent with those imposed by the RFU Disciplinary Panel.”

The club have not disclosed the sanctions that were taken against Alex Lewington, Juan Pablo Socino, Jackson Wray, Calum Clark, Sean Maitland, Tim Swinson, Joel Kpoku and Manu Vunipola.

The Saracens players have, however, voluntarily moved swiftly to take steps to make up for the mistakes they made.

The eight involved have made contributions to help cover lost wages for casual workers at Twickenham Stadium, donated to the Matt Ratana Foundation and committed to raising significant further funds for the charity in the months ahead.

They have also written personal letters of apology to each of the major stakeholders impacted.

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