Guy Thompson, the former Wasps and Leicester back-row now at Jersey, added: “This is a really poor decision. Greedy owners that want to keep a monopoly on it. A team that wins a league deserves the opportunity to compete and grow. Such a predictable outcome by the @RFU!”

Ampthill forward Charlie Beckett, the brother of England Women’s international Sarah, added: “Both Trailfinders Sports Park and Castle Park are brilliant grounds/facilities. Them not holding 10000 being the reason neither team can win promotion is laughable in my opinion. Gutted for all the staff, players and fans of both sides, and for this brilliant league as a whole.

“Also, it’s nice to see the RFU feel Trailfinders Sports Park was good enough to host the Premier15s final a number of years ago, and that Castle Park is good enough to host @EnglandRugby women’s internationals, but neither is good enough for men’s Premiership?”

Should Ealing’s appeal prove successful it would have echoes of London Welsh’s promotion to the Premiership back in 2012, after their initial application was rejected due to not holding primacy of tenure at the 12,500-capacity Kassam Stadium in Oxford, despite the fact that other Premiership clubs at the time – London Irish, Saracens, Wasps and Sale – were playing without primacy of tenure at their respective grounds.

Bill Sweeney, chief executive officer of the RFU, said: “The RFU and PRL would welcome a Championship club being promoted to create a 14-team Gallagher Premiership league.

“In the past, clubs with home grounds which would not meet the Minimum Standards Criteria have nominated other grounds, under a ground-share agreement to provide a bridge between a club developing its own facilities to provide safe, compliant participation in the Premiership.

“The RFU and PRL would like to support and encourage all Championship clubs to continue to develop their proposals for the expansion and development of their grounds including the submission of formal planning applications.”

Saracens’ director of rugby Mark McCall expressed his disappointment at the news, after Saracens were promoted from the Championship at the end of the 2020-21 season.

“I’ve always felt that if a club has the resources and the ambition, and deserves to be in the Premiership that should never be stopped,” McCall said. “The case of Exeter 12 years ago shows you what’s capable. I don’t know the reasons, it’s probably facility based, but that’s a real shame to see that.”