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Saracens has denied any wrongdoing after it was claimed that at least one Guinness Premiership club is being investigated for breaking salary cap rules.

The Guardian reports that Edward Griffiths, Saracens' chief executive, said his club had not exceeded the current £4m cap and called for an end to political "sabre-rattling" between rival English sides.

Wasps owner Steve Hayes alleged earlier this week that at least one an un-named club was being investigated for breaching the cap.

Griffiths said: "To try and portray Saracens as a club bankrolled by millionaires seeking the best players in the world would be about five years out of date. Unless the Premiership clubs start working together and we stop this culture of making wild attacks on each other in the media, we're not going to advance."

Griffiths does accept, however, that there is a difference of opinion between richer and poorer clubs about whether the salary cap should be raised next year. "There has to be a balance between those clubs looking anxiously at the bank manager and those clubs looking anxiously at the leading French clubs," he added.

"In any group, people have different needs and some clubs are finding running an elite rugby club very challenging. It is in their interests that the costs are contained. Others may have bigger ambitions to compete in Europe against French teams with a salary cap of 7m Euros and Irish teams with no salary cap. I don't doubt that all the clubs are operating within the regulations but whether there are some clubs who are frustrated by that I don't know.

"At Saracens we want to play our part in making English domestic rugby the most respected in the world. We don't want it to be second-rate. Having said that, we're not oblivious to the economic reality facing some of our clubs. We have to face the reality that there are different demands on different people but the sabre-rattling on both sides is counter-productive. I hope the league will be able to find a sensible compromise.”