Koukash spares Red Hall a difficult decision

The Rugby Football League is expected to make an announcement today on the ownership of the Super League club, which has been in administration for the last six weeks, but Koukash revealed on Twitter that her bid had been rejected.

“Would like to wish all other bidders the very best,” she said. “I am hearing my bid will not be the winning one. My bid was focused in helping the Bulls.

“As I understand, the RFL has nothing to do with the decision. It is based on the highest bid to pay the old debt.”

Her withdrawal will spare the RFL a dilemma, removing the need to reveal whether it would have been brave enough to allow a second Koukash to run a Super League club.

Dr Marwan Koukash, the outspoken Salford owner, has ruffled a few feathers at Red Hall during his first 12 months in the game and only last week was given a £1,000 fine and a warning after being found guilty of misconduct.

That did not deter his wife from seeking to buy a club of her own and she had pledged to plough funds into the crisis-torn Bulls.

However, it appears the bid by the racehorse owners did not get past the first hurdle, that of satisfying the administrators who have to find the best deal for the creditors before discovering if the preferred buyer meets the approval of the game’s governing body.

London-based businessman Richard Lamb, who organised the corporate hospitality at the 2013 World Cup, and football clubs Bradford City and Bradford Park Avenue were thought to be among Koukash’s rivals.

There could also be involvement from debenture holder Marc Green, who is the club’s biggest creditor after making a loan of around £250,000 to OK Bulls Ltd last September.

That company was put into administration in January and a bid by 2014 Bradford Bulls UK Ltd collapsed following the RFL’s decision to impose a six-point deduction and place the club in special measures.

It was then thought a fresh bidder might have had more joy and Mandy Koukash would certainly have been good for the media, if the experience of her charismatic husband’s dealings so far are any guide.

Having pledged to provide money for coach Francis Cummins to strengthen his small playing squad, Koukash has hinted that she may still have some involvement in the club.

“If possible, I would consider working with the winning bidder,” she added on Twitter.

The club also still owe a tax bill of around £177,000.

Whoever it is who takes the helm it is important the club find some stability after flirting with financial ruin for the last two years.

The Bulls, humiliated 66-18 at home by Huddersfield on Sunday, are sitting bottom of the table and are desperately in need of fresh blood after the financial crisis ripped the heart out of coach Cummins’s squad.

The RFL will still have a say in the outcome of the ownership race and it is worth pointing out that it has a vested interest in the subject, having bought the Odsal ground from the club just over two years ago.

It will need to protect its own investment but, more importantly, must make the best decision to preserve one of the jewels in Super League’s crown.

Huddersfield full-back Scott Grix has been cleared to face the Catalan Dragons on Saturday.

He pleaded guilty to a grade B offence of kicking Bradford hooker Adam O’Brien during his side’s 66-18 win over the Bulls and was fined £300 fine but not suspended at a Rugby Football League disciplinary hearing in Leeds last night.

Grix’s team-mate Michael Lawrenson will sit out Saturday’s game, after admitting a grade B dangerous tackle in the match at Bradford.

He was suspended for one game and fined £300. Bradford forward Chev Walker was also given a one-match ban and a £300 fine for a reckless shoulder charge Luke Robinson.

The hearing into Castleford full-back Jordan Tansey’s accusation of making deliberate contact with a referee was adjourned until Wednesday.

Catalan’s Jeff Lima has been banned for two matches and fined £300 grade C dangerous tackle on St Helens prop on Kyle Amor during last Friday’s loss. St Helens prop Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook was also banned for two games and fined £300.