Club Statement

Following the recent publication, and several rumours about the club, Oldham RLFC would like to clarify several matters being openly discussed in the public domain.

The club can confirm that club owner and Chairman Bill Quinn is currently subject to a 12 month ban in relation to allegations made against him by the board of Oldham Athletic. Bill vehemently denies these allegations and as such has put this very serious matter in hands of his solicitors. Bill has the complete backing of Oldham RLFC.

The club would also like to reassure supporters by totally refuting any claim of unpaid bills or of any financial difficulty. The club have no idea as to the source of these claims, which it believes to be disingenuous at best.

The club can also confirm that there is a contractual financial dispute with Oldham Athletic with regards to its use of Boundary Park, with both parties believing to be owed revenues by the other. Oldham RLFC has requested that the matter goes to mediation, as per the dispute resolution terms and conditions of the contract in place. Any decision made by an independent mediator would be legally binding and Oldham RLFC are more than happy to abide by a mediator’s decision.

However, to date, the football club have refused to go to mediation. In addition to refusing to allow this matter to go to mediation, sadly the football club then stated that Boundary Park will remain unavailable until the financial dispute is resolved. As a result, we were not allowed to play the Law Cup game, and this essentially left the dispute at an impasse. As such, Oldham RLFC have contacted the local authority to explain the situation in the hope that they can assist in moving the matter forward. The club have also sought legal advice in respect of the contractual dispute.

With Boundary Park remaining unavailable, unfortunately the club was left with no choice but to seek an alternative venue for our Challenge Cup fixture against Orrell St James. Since securing another venue, Oldham Athletic have come back to state that we can play at Boundary Park, but only under certain conditions. The club deem these conditions to be unacceptable and, as such, feel unable to do so at this moment in time.

Like its supporters, Oldham RLFC are extremely disappointed at having to move out of the borough for this fixture but remain hopeful that the matter can be resolved. However, it would like to put on record its thanks to Stalybridge Celtic who have stepped in to assist us at very short notice.

ORLFC hopes to see all supporters behind the club on Sunday afternoon at Bower Fold.