Saracens are set a relegation battle after concluding the chances of a successful appeal against their 35-point deduction and £5m fine for breaching the Premiership’s salary cap regulations were too slim.

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They are expected to tell Premiership Rugby on Monday, the appeal deadline, that they will not take the matter further despite contending that the punishment was unjust. Some clubs had threatened to boycott fixtures with the Premiership champions if they contested the sanctions, but it was the restrictive nature of the appeal which can be made only on the basis of an error of law, the decision being irrational, or procedural unfairness, that prompted Saracens’ decision.

So they will drop from third in the Premiership table to bottom with minus 22 points, 26 behind Leicester. That would take them a minimum of six matches to make up and they will be without their England players for five league games during the Six Nations, unless they suspend their international careers to keep the club in the top flight.

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The immediate reaction of Saracens to the decision, which was reached by an independent panel chaired by the barrister Lord Dyson, was to say they would appeal. They were found guilty of failing to disclose payments to plays in three seasons from 2016-17 and exceeding the ceiling on payments to senior players. No details of the breaches have been made public.

Mark McCall, Saracens’ director of rugby, would not comment on the appeal ahead of his side’s Champions Cup opener at Racing 92, saying: “Other people in the club will make that decision. The deadline is tomorrow. It is not my decision. My job is to get on with the rugby and get the best out of this group.”

Saracens can expect to pay the costs of the five-day hearing on top of the fine, which is likely to be shared by their Premiership rivals, leaving them some £6m to find.