Worcester Warriors players and staff have turned against owners after Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham released an astonishing statement in which they blame the squad and supporters for the club’s plight.
The statement was released when it emerged that players and staff face losing their jobs next Wednesday with the company WRFC Players Limited that holds their contracts. The WRFC Players Limited is chances to go into liquidation due to HMRC’s winding-up order.
Whittingham and Goldring’s statement came after the club’s captain, Ted Hill, gave an interview to ITV Central. Ted said in the interview that an apology is needed from not only the owners but also from other high-up people in the company.
Goldring and Whittingham addressed staff, supporters, and the community of Worcester Warriors. They said we are thankful to all of the Worcesters staff that supported the club through Covid in accepting a significant reduction in their salary. They added, but sorry that the playing squad could not accept a similar level of reduction.
Goldring and Whittingham said we are thankful to all of the supporters who continued to support the club in any way they could. We are thankful to those supporters who turned up week in and week out to support the club, they added. They added, but sorry that we were not able to make the club financially viable despite the significant personal funds we put into the club.
The statement was issued on the day staff and players were supposed to receive September’s payment. It is understood those payments were not forthcoming, which allowed players to hand in a notice of their intention to leave the club. The club has 14 days to make those payments otherwise, the players can leave.
The WRFC Players Limited is expected to be liquidated when the winding-up order is heard in court next week. This wind-up order would lead to the contracts of players and staff being terminated.
The administrator for WRFC Trading Limited, Julie Palmer, said HMRC has signaled its intention to stick with the 5 October hearing rather than agree to a delay. The WRFC has still a degree of hope of a two-week extension to find a buyer.
During this time, some players would be able to find new clubs, and the players who wish to stay with the club would effectively have to hope that new buyers come.
The administrators of WRFC are focusing on talks with multiple potential buyers to solve this issue.
