Leigh Leopards’ owner Derek Beaumont has hit back at Wigan Warriors after they shared a statement online confirming that the away allocation for next Saturday’s Super League semi-final would be capped at just 5,000, with Beaumont arguing it is a bid to ‘put pressure on the RFL’.
That in itself would appear to be a very strange remark, however, some will remember that there is a history behind this, with Wigan claiming that Beaumont threatened to withdraw Leigh from last year’s semi-final based on fears over away fan safety.
Wigan shared a statement last October confirming that Beaumont had made that threat in a 10:37 pm email, something that Beaumont would respond to with a 4,000-word-plus statement at 10:37 the following night.
In the end, Beaumont personally boycotted the game, which Leigh would go on to lose, but the feud has seemingly reignited after Wigan preemptively shared a statement to confirm that whichever side visits the Brick Community Stadium next week will only have an allocation of 5,000.
Wigan correctly assert that the figure is more than double the mandatory 10% that clubs must allow, however, Beaumont has taken issue with the statement and commented on social media.
Super League Dream Team reaction, England selection debate, and are Wigan Warriors unstoppable? – Click here to watch the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show
Derek Beaumont hits back at Wigan Warriors
Posting on his personal account, the Leigh Leopards’ owner responded to a comment after being tagged in the post.
Most Read on Serious About Rugby League
He said: “This is the club trying to put pressure on the RFL to agree to this nonsense after last year when an investigation found it wholly inappropriate to prevent fans accessing a stadium with thousands of empty seats. Again bringing it to twitter ultra professional is that.”
Last year’s game recorded an attendance of 18,523 despite Leigh having their number of away fans capped, with the Leopards crashing out at that stage of the play-offs for the second year in a row to neighbours Wigan.
Should Leigh beat Wakefield Trinity tonight and Warrington Wolves beat Hull KR on Saturday evening, the pair will meet again at the Brick next Saturday.
This is the club trying to put pressure on the @TheRFL to agree to this nonsense after last year when an investigation found it wholly inappropriate to prevent fans accessing a stadium with thousands of empty seats. Again bringing it to twitter ultra professional is that 😩
— Derek John Beaumont (@derek_beaumont) September 18, 2026
