Salford could be hit with a disrepute charge after fielding a reserve squad in their record-breaking 82-0 Betfred Super League defeat at St Helens on Saturday.
Due to salary cap restrictions the Red Devils were denied the use of a number of senior players but head coach Paul Rowley still chose to name three of those who had been available on the bench.
Saints’ 15-try romp was the biggest winning margin in Super League history and drew criticism from rivals including Warrington head coach Sam Burgess that it has compromised the integrity of the competition.
The match was broadcast live on Sky Sports and BBC Two and blighted an otherwise superb opening weekend which saw the first 0-0 regular-time draw between Wigan and Leigh (the latter winning in golden point extra-time), and Wakefield’s stunning win at Leeds.
The PA news agency understands that RFL chiefs will meet on Monday to determine whether Salford will be the subject of a compliance investigation that could result in a charge of breaching operational rules.
Those rules include the requirement that each club “has at all times a squad of players sufficient to meet its obligations in all competitions.”
Due to salary cap restrictions, Salford were denied the use of a number of senior players but head coach Paul Rowley still chose to name three of those who had been available on the bench
If charged and subsequently found guilty, the club could face a range of sanctions, although it is not thought a points deduction would be one of them.
Salford announced the completion of a takeover on Friday, ending a period of financial turmoil that required them to name a restricted squad for last week’s Challenge Cup third-round win at Midlands Hurricanes.
Due to the timing of the takeover, the salary cap remained in place for Saturday, and Rowley said after the Saints defeat that he had been told he could not use any of the players who had featured against Midlands.
He added that his decision not to start with any of the remaining senior players at his disposal against St Helens was due to issues of familiarity.
“I can’t put half a team out made of the reserves (and first-team) and introduce them all on the bus because I don’t think it’s the right thing to do,” said Rowley.
However, Salford were slammed by Leigh chairman Derek Beaumont, who accused them of “complete disrespect” for the competition in a strongly-worded social media post, and Warrington head coach Sam Burgess also said the episode had blighted an otherwise excellent first weekend of the new campaign.
Speaking after his side’s 20-12 win at Huddersfield, Burgess said: “I think the weekend has been brilliant. The games have been fantastic, barring the debacle in the case that we all know about.
“I think that’s been handled poorly and a lack of leadership from everyone. It’s a kind of black mark on the competition.
“It takes away from the integrity of the table. You look how tight it finished last year and the year before, it’s going to have a direct impact on the end of the year.
“The integrity of the league is affected. I’m just telling the truth about it, so how we’ve got to that stage I don’t know.”
Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four matches each week shown on Sky Sports+
