Leicester cooperating with Premiership investigation into image rights payments

The Tigers have met with representatives from the umbrella organisation for the Gallagher Premiership

Leicester are co-operating with an image rights investigation (Zac Goodwin/PA) (PA Archive)

Leicester Tigers have confirmed that they are cooperating with a Premiership Rugby investigation into historic image rights payments.

The Tigers have met with representatives from the umbrella organisation for the Gallagher Premiership to discuss the potential breach of salary cap regulations.

The league leaders have responded to a report stating that salary cap director Andrew Rogers is looking into their association with a company called Worldwide Image Management (WIM).

WIM was shut down in February but it is claimed that it previously made payments to Leicester players.

Rogers’ investigation will look to clarify whether the payments constituted an increase in individual salaries, thereby breaking the salary cap.

The development comes in the season that Saracens returned to the Premiership after a year spent in the second tier of English rugby as punishment for repeated salary cap breaches.