5 sporting scandals that led to heavy penalties

5 sporting scandals that led to heavy penalties

Saracens must play in the second tier next season after breaching Premiership Rugby’s salary cap regulations.

The London club have won the Gallagher Premiership title in four of the last five seasons, but will be relegated to the Championship at the end of the current campaign.

Here, the PA news agency looks at five other occasions when a famous club or sporting superstars were caught breaking the rules.

Juve in ‘cheat’ humiliation

The Italian football scandal, or Calciopoli as it became known, ended with the relegation of Serie A champions Juventus – who were also stripped of their title – to Serie B. AC Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina and Reggina were also punished in the match-fixing scandal after police had uncovered an elaborate network of managers and referee organisations whose aim was to select favourable officials for certain matches.

Johnson’s drugs shame

Ben Johnson's stunning performance at the Seoul Olympics was scrubbed from the record books
Ben Johnson’s stunning performance at the Seoul Olympics was scrubbed from the record books (PA)

Armstrong stripped of Tour de France titles

Years of cover-ups and denials finally caught up with American cyclist Lance Armstrong in 2012 when a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) investigation found Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career. He was stripped of all of his achievements from August 1998 onwards, including his record seven Tour de France titles, and handed a lifetime ban from the sport. He confessed during an interview with Oprah Winfrey on television in 2013.

Spain’s Paralympic basketball scandal

The Paralympic flag was tarnished by Spain's basketball team in Sydney
The Paralympic flag was tarnished by Spain’s basketball team in Sydney (Lynne Cameron/PA)

Aussies exposed in ball-tampering storm

Australia’s Steve Smith, right, and David Warner were both handed 12-month bans
Australia’s Steve Smith, right, and David Warner were both handed 12-month bans (Mike Egerton/PA)

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