exactly,that's the problem - it's a legal issue that could,and probably take years to contest by the ex employees

silly question probably and please excuse my ignorance but isn't there any kind of RFL 'slush-fund' for such eventualities ?

I will laugh my wotsit off if we have 4/5 SL clubs going belly up as a result of tax avoidance, even more so as the Turkeys have just been allowed to vote for Xmas.
The game will go on whatever happens, so the end aint nigh, its the insular way its being run that makes me cry.
Should make a great comedy at some point in the future.

The RFL do have ' history ' of changing their own rules to suit particular clubs , they altered the standards required to enter SL for Castleford in 2005

That would be the same season Catalans were added to the competition and given the 3 year relegation exemption. Perhaps the two issues were related, perhaps not, but over the years we have been left a situation where because of the RFL giving (or appearing to give) preferential treatment to certain clubs or changing their own rules at short notice no-one can trust a word they say.

Sad to say I find myself rather hoping Crusaders are in trouble and are unable to continue in SL because that would save my own club. I am not proud to admit it and have nothing in particular against Crusaders but in the absence of P&R and the situation where the RFL have deemed that one club is being relegated come what may I would rather that club that was someone other than Cas, and 'last in, first out' is as good a reason as any for Crusaders to go.
I suspect I am not alone in these sentiments and in a few short years the RFL have taken a sport with healthy rivalries but an over-arching feeling that we were a rugby league 'family' to a position where supporters are at each other's throats hoping for the demise of an opposing club to save their own skins. The RFL should hang their heads in shame at what they are doing to our game.

So, in a nutshell.

We are led to believe that, a few weeks ago the SL clubs agreed to amend the rules regarding going into administration, because of the image rights problem.

Are we to believe that, a fair few clubs are actually going to go down the same route as the Crusaders have gone?

So, in theory, we could see the likes of Leeds, St’s, Warrington, Hull K.R going into administration (apologies to fans of those clubs – just a theory right)

I just can’t see it to be honest.

I think a minority of clubs would be ok but for many if HMRC slap down a big tax demand and want their money right away then it could spell serious problems for them. If reports were correct then Wakefield's bill was about £200k and you would imagine that it would be substantially more at bigger clubs with 'star' players.

The simple fact with HMRC is that if you haven't got the money then they will force you into insolvency. How many SL clubs do you reckon could put their hands on large amounts of cash in a short timeframe if necessary ? Those with genuinely wealthy backers like Leeds, Wigan, Wire would be ok but some of the others would struggle.

Wasn't there a report a while ago that stated quite a few sports clubs ( including some big names) were actually trading illegally and that if anyone actually tried to put them out of business the whole edifice would come tumbling down and the social unrest it could cause was one of the key reasons why it wasn't done?

TBH i'm not tb's biggest fan but I understood his point all to well.

Define "trading illegally"?

Do you mean trading whilst insolvent?

Clubs with a sugar daddy - or who have a very strong balance sheet on the back of very fortuitous property transactions - are unlikely to be vulnerable. Those without a rich owner - or where the rich owner is not rich enough to invest much more - will be the vulnerable ones.

As I said earlier, I fear we are heading towards an 8-team (or so) SL comprising clubs with rich owners.

How boring would that be?

A Super League with the same teams in it every season and no fear of relegation? Boring?

Now which idiot would allow that to happen?












Oh. Hang on......................

why is everyone being so dramatic? a badly planned franchise failed and went into debt resulting into this slightly better badly planned franchise going into administration on the back of its debt. Until the RFL start insisting on proper long term business plans for new SL clubs this will keep happening.

100% correct, it's a shame people don't learn from the mistakes of the past

I mean that no matter what we do; Wembley final, test matches in London, pro club in London etc never makes any difference to this image.



Quite a few UK companies are based in Leeds but it doesn't seem to affect them.

I think it comes down to the fact that it is a great deal easier and cheaper to rent appropriate offices in Leeds rather than London; not to mention that Leeds is fairly central to most of the clubs. It would be rather annoying to have to traipse 300 miles or so every time you want to meet a club chairman.

this whole tax issue could be very far reaching. as i understand it (only what i have read on here) this appears to be a loophole used by the clubs to avoid tax.

do these pension payments count towards the salary cap?

maybe i am being cynical but perhaps clubs have been using the same loophole to skirt the SC.