Leinster's Champions Cup quarter-final in limbo as Saracens face potential expulsion

- Additional reporting by Stephen Barry.

Leinster’s Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final opponents have been thrown into doubt after defending champions Saracens admitted they may have fielded an ineligible player in their final pool game.

Top seeds Leinster are scheduled to face the English club, seeded eighth, at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on April 4 but competition organisers European Professional Club Rugby on Friday announced they have filed a misconduct complaint against Saracens, which they will have to answer at a hearing in London this evening.

EPCR acted after Saracens, already consigned to relegation from the English Premiership at the end of the season following their breach of the league's salary cap regulations, contacted the Champions Cup governing body to inform them that replacement prop and USA international Titi Lamositele played against Pool 4 opponents Racing 92 a day after his work permit expired.

Though he was eligible at the time of the matchday squad announcement, that could result in Lamositele being ruled ineligible at the hearing.

The club could face a points deduction or fine for the offence.

There is a precedent for deducting teams points for fielding ineligible players in previous seasons. In the 2012-13 Challenge Cup, Grenoble were deducted the points for their victory over London Welsh after fielding an ineligible player, although Lotu Taukeiaho was not even registered in their squad in that case.

In 2000, Agen and London Irish were both docked points after playing ineligible players in the European Shield.

Should Saracens lose the points for their win over Racing, Munster would be deemed to finish second in Pool 4, however it would be Glasgow Warriors who would be next in line to take their quarter-final place as the next-best runners-up.

Indeed, if EPCR decided to award the full five match points to Racing, it would see the French side jump from fifth to second seeds, forcing all four quarter-final fixtures to be amended.

"EPCR was informed by Saracens earlier this week that their player, Titi Lamositele, who was named in the matchday squad for the fixture at Allianz Park and who came onto the field of play as a replacement in the 60th minute, may have been ineligible due (to) an inadvertent administrative error on behalf of the club,” an EPCR statement read.

"Lamositele was eligible at the time the Saracens matchday squad was announced, however, the club has indicated to EPCR that the player’s work permit expired on Saturday, 18 January, the day before the fixture against Racing 92, and this may have constituted a breach of the Disciplinary Rules of the 2019/20 EPCR Participation Agreement.

"An independent Disciplinary Committee consisting of Roger Morris (Wales), Chair, Pamela Woodman (Scotland) and Jean-Noel Couraud (France) has been appointed to hear the misconduct complaint in London this evening (Friday, 7 February) at 18.00 local time."

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