Saracens will wait until they have received a written verdict from European Rugby Cup Ltd before deciding whether to appeal against the €25,000 (£21,800) fine – 60% of which was suspended – handed out to their director of rugby, Brendan Venter, by a disciplinary panel for disparaging remarks he made about refereeing in the Heineken Cup.

"We are extremely disappointed at the severity of the fine and are awaiting the full transcriptof the verdict, which is expected to come out next week," the Saracens chief executive, Edward Griffiths, said.

Saracens are angry that Bayonne's director of rugby Christian Gajan was fined only €12,500 for the same offence as Venter's

Venter made his remarks about what he perceived as refereeing inconsistencies in the Heineken Cup following his side's defeat by Leinster at Wembley last month.

The club are angry that the Bayonne director of rugby, Christian Gajan, was fined only €12,500 (£7,500 suspended) for the same offence as Venter and that Montpellier were told to hand over €5,000 for fielding a weakened side.