The Rugby Football League has defended its decision to award ownership of a new Bradford club to the New Zealand businessmen Andrew Chalmers and Graham Lowe as well as the decision to place the re‑formed club straight back into the Championship.
Bradford were liquidated on 3 January following seven weeks in administration. The RFL chose Chalmers and Lowe as the winning bidders following offers from four parties interested in reviving the former Super League champions.
The RFL, which purchased the assets of the old club from the administrator on Wednesday, has been criticised for placing the club in the Championship with a 12-point deduction rather than in the bottom tier of the professional structure, League One. It has rejected the view that doing so sends out the wrong message.
“Anybody who trivialises insolvency completely misses the point,” the RFL chief executive, Nigel Wood, said. “It causes a lot of real distress, a lot of pain, uncertainty and there is always a butcher’s bill to pay.
“I don’t think that a decision, however controversial, to leave the club in the Championship, will cause a race to administration. The really easy decision would be to say: ‘Right, you’re gone and we’ll phone up Whitehaven to see if they want to fulfil the fixture list.’ We could say: ‘We know you haven’t prepared for that and haven’t signed the players but you are the team that’s prepared for League One and has to play in the Championship.’
“It could have disenfranchised 1,000 season ticket holders at Bradford] that had put money into the sport, and if they could restart after a 12-month hiatus they’d have to try to pump life into it. That would have been the simplest thing to do but not the best.”
Chalmers and Lowe, a former Wigan coach, will meet the media on Friday to spell out their vision for Bradford. They are also expected to name a new coach after informing Rohan Smith that he would not be retained.
The RFL chief operating officer, Ralph Rimmer, said the duo’s experience in the sport made them stand out. “Rugby league experience was a big part of the decision,” he said. “They also bring capital investment but that’s for them to discuss. Their vision was also a part of it, they’ve got a big philosophy surrounding local talent and they’ve got their own ideas how to do that.” Chalmers will relocate to England and Lowe is expected to be a frequent visitor.
Rimmer said a number of parties have expressed an interest in joining forces with them. “I’ve been contacted by three parties who are interested in working alongside the new owners,” he said.
Rimmer said concerns over the duo’s business operations in New Zealand had been thoroughly explored during due diligence, leaving the RFL satisfied. “We had to look into it and we’ve had a lengthy explanation of what went on which has been confirmed by solicitors over there in regards to how it was settled with the crown to their satisfaction.”
He rejected accusations that the RFL’s governance of how clubs operate should be tighter and said Bradford were placed into special measures last year. “When we got the red flags with Bradford, which was around July, we put the club into special measures, which essentially means you can’t sign players,” he said.
“We looked at their projected player spend for 2017 and said they needed to get it down and they needed to make trades but they couldn’t do that without us knowing about it. The rules are the rules; I don’t think we need to change but I understand the pain this has all caused.”
