Could there be financial problems at Salford?
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www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/sin- ... hn7jb.html
Marwan Koukash's slim chances of owning an NRL club are dashed after reports more players and staff aren't getting paid at Salford. We revealed recently that Tony Puletua was out of pocket to the tune of almost 50,000 pounds and there are fresh claims from the Old Dart that some staff are on strike after not being paid. After the Nathan Tinkler debacle, the NRL is wary of handing clubs over to self-made millionaires with a penchant for horses.
www.salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=2778
BAILIFFS, UNPAID PLAYERS AND STAFF STRIKES AS KOUKASH CLUB IN TURMOIL
Salford Red Devils, taken over by Marwan Koukash in 2013, is in financial turmoil, the Salford Star understands, with visits by bailiffs, top players having difficulties getting paid and an `active proposal to strike off' the company at Companies House.
There are also reports of player Tony Puletua suing the club for around £50,000 he claims he is owed, and a strike at the club earlier this year by unpaid physios. Koukash has an outstanding £1.5million loan to pay back to Salford Council.
Full details here...
Salford Red Devils Company Strike Off Notice Marwan Koukash
click image to enlarge
Salford Red Devils fans have been left shocked recently as top players have either left, or are planning to leave, the Super League rugby club that owner Marwan Koukash insists is "trying to build for a bright future".
Theo Fages, around who Koukash is trying to build this `bright future', has put in a transfer request. Lama Tasi left last month for St Helens; Kevin Locke is apparently on his way out, and Tony Puletua is now on loan at Hull KR amidst claims in the Sydney Herald that he is currently suing the Red Devils for £50,000 he is owed by the club.
Meanwhile, reports are rife on social media of one player having to sell his car to get money, others not having the rent paid on their houses and many star players having major difficulties getting money owed to them from the club. An informed source told the Salford Star that the rumours are `mostly true'.
Salford Star also understands that earlier in the season there was actually a strike by the club's physiotherapists to force the club to pay them over three months' wages that were due, and that, this week, bailiffs visited the club's headquarters looking to recover unpaid debts. Last September, Salford Red Devils were issued with a County Court Judgement by shirt suppliers, Kooga, for non-payment of bills (see previous Salford Star article – click here).
On the Companies House website today there is an `Active proposal to strike off' the company as annual returns, due by 20th February, have not been submitted.
The Salford Star asked Salford Red Devils to comment on all these allegations but, as yet, has received no response.
If reports of the perilous Salford Red Devils finances are accurate, it would leave huge question marks over the £1.5million loan that Marwan Koukash promised to repay to Salford City Council after he took over the club (see here), and the fate of the Salford Council/Peel Holdings owned AJ Bell Stadium, which has been mired in controversy since the £164,000 secret Council giveaway was exposed (see here).
Koukash has gone public today with plans to let fans in for free to next month's match against Catalan Dragons at the AJ Bell stadium. The impact of this on the club's finances and possible debts to the players remains to be seen.
On reading the rumours of the Red Devils' dealings with players on social media last night, Salford Reds fan and author Simon Williams, posted...
"As a fan of any club you put your trust in the owners, the chairman, the coach, the players and anyone who has anything to do with the club. You follow them with all your passion, and trust everything they say. In return they get your support which is lifelong. Some seasons ain't as good as other; sometimes you say `Never again, that's my last game' but you always turn up, season after season; you are the lifeblood of the club...
"Some chairmen need to remember this" he added "Some players play with passion , the passion you as a fan show on the ground, which is why you love your team and will always be there for them. Chairmen come and go but one thing is for sure, you as a fan will always be there even if your club has to start from the bottom. You are the heartbeat of the team. Never forget that. It is a pity some chairmen do..."
Interesting stuff "IF" true
