Salford Red Devils dealt fresh setback to leave Castleford Tigers game under threat

The Rugby Football League has re-imposed a £1.2million squad limit after the club failed to meet a deadline to deliver its February payroll to players and staff by Tuesday lunchtime.

Delays in finalising a takeover deal led Salford to field a squad of youth team players for their opening match of the season at St Helens last month, which they lost by a competition record score of 82-0.

And with Salford’s players still yet to return to full training ahead of the Castleford fixture in protest at non-payment of wages, there must be real doubt that the game can go ahead.

In a statement, the club issued a “sincere apology” to supporters, adding: “Salford Red Devils can confirm that the club will be under the restriction of a sustainability cap for this weekend’s Betfred Super League fixture against Castleford Tigers on Friday 7th March.

“This is due to the delay of funding following the takeover with funds currently pending regulatory clearance. CEO Chris Irwin and the new ownership will meet with the Special Measures Committee and RL Commercial tomorrow morning.”

Salford’s players and staff were due to have been paid on Thursday, and the club blamed the delay on standard money-laundering protocols relating to the transfer of money from abroad.

The club have been heavily criticised for their handling of the crisis, specifically head coach Paul Rowley’s decision not to include a number of senior players whom he still had at his disposal for the game at Saints.

The match was broadcast live on the BBC and drew criticism from rivals, including Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess, amid a growing sense of exasperation with the situation from within the game.

Having belatedly had the takeover ratified, Salford played full-strength teams in their subsequent two games, which they lost 32-6 and 42-0 to Leeds Rhinos and Hull KR respectively.

With further sanctions clearly not being ruled out, the RFL said it would demand further assurances from the club at Wednesday’s meeting.

The RFL said in a statement that the club will be asked to explain “the current position regarding non-payment of staff, and how this will be rectified as well as a wider update on the club’s financial sustainability”.