Post by greyhound on Apr 24, 2016 13:19:23 GMT
Salford face a potential date with destiny on Monday
when their alleged salary-cap breach will go in front of a judge.
Salford Red Devils owner Dr Marwan Koukash
The Red Devils' bid for a first top-eight finish under Marwan Koukash's regime could hinge on the outcome of the hearing, which is being held by an independent off-field operational rules tribunal of the Rugby Football League.
Salford were charged by the RFL on March 4 of exceeding Super League's £1.825million wage ceiling in 2014 and 2015 but Koukash has consistently vowed to prove the innocence of his club.
Bradford chairman Marc Green initially raised questions over the Red Devils' use of the cap in the two years in question and in particular their signing of Tony Puletua from St Helens in 2014.
Koukash says Green's intervention put pressure on the RFL and at a press conference on March 10 accused the governing body of treating his club unfairly.
"We're going to fight this and win it together - I don't want anyone to doubt that," he said.
"I have nothing to worry about. If necessary I will go to the highest court in the land. I have the means to do so in order to protect the interests of my club, its fans and our players."
Koukash insisted his club did nothing wrong over Puletua and says his actions in gifting 2015 player of the year Niall Evalds with a Maserati car were carried out within the regulations.
Salford, who are operating well below the salary cap this year, were the last club to be docked competition points but that was for inadvertently having 14 players on the pitch for a short time in a match against Castleford in 2013.
There have been eight cases of points deductions for salary-cap breaches in Super League but none since 2007 following the introduction of a "live" cap which is monitored by a salary cap manager appointed by Super League.
In the worst case, Wigan were docked four points nine years ago after going over the then £1.6million wage ceiling by £222,314 the previous season when they were fighting relegation.
Since Bradford were ordered to forfeit six points after going into administration in 2012, the RFL drastically increased the sanctions and now the governing body has the power to deduct up to 20 points and impose restrictions on the ability of a club to register any new players.
Salford, who have finished in the bottom four in all three years since Koukash saved the club from financial ruin, have so far accrued 10 points after winning five of their opening 12 matches.
On April 1 Koukash joked on his Twitter account that his club had been docked six points for breaching the salary cap, plus a further two for crowd trouble at the Easter Monday game at Huddersfield, and vowed to go to the highest court in the land to fight the decisions.
The wealthy racehorse owner will be hoping to have the last laugh on the RFL on Monday.