Sunday 21 December 2014 09:11, UK
Leicester rugby director Richard Cockerill has defended the Aviva Premiership salary cap following a report that Saracens and Bath are being investigated for alleged breaches of it.
Premiership Rugby has refused to comment on a report in Saturday's Daily Mail that Saracens and Bath are under scrutiny.
The newspaper claimed an inquiry is under way after a 'whistle-blower' made complaints to salary cap auditors.
Recommended sanctions for such offences are points deductions and fines, although the extent of any alleged breaches is not apparent.
Speaking after Tigers' 23-19 league defeat to Northampton, Cockerill said: "The cap is there for a reason. It is a good thing because it keeps the league competitive.
"Ultimately, if you have one or two clubs with owners that want to spend limitless amounts of money, it is okay.
"But sides like ourselves, Gloucester and Saints (Northampton), who pay our own bills and we have a robust financial structure in that we spend what we can afford to spend, that's a good model to be part of.
"There is no point having two or three sides that can spend £15million, and the rest can spend £5 or £6 million, because that is what makes the league uneven.
"We can only afford to spend what we've got. What we create, we spend. We are not in debt, and that is exactly how we want to stay."
