Worcester Warriors owners, Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring, have released a shocking statement following the club's suspension the Gallagher Premiership.
Worcester have been suspended from playing after failing to meet insurance and pay-roll standards, due to the club's ongoing financial crisis.
Despite the extremely tough situation for players, staff, and fans, the club's owners have placed some of the the blame on players and supporters, leading rugby Twitter to respond angrily and call the owners out for their action.
Rugby Twitter Reacts To Worcester Warriors Owner's Statement
Absolute shit houses
— Paul Williams (@thepaulwilliams) September 30, 2022
They blamed me for the NI Protocol.
What have the Worcester owners blamed you for? https://t.co/6Cxsmo41WU— Cian Ó M 🏉 (@RugbyKino) October 1, 2022
Disgraced Worcester owners have already made a mockery of Cecil Duckworth’s generosity and now they are trying to blame players and fans for club’s demise. Outrageous defiance from the 🤠🤡 double-act with so much to hide…
— Chris Foy (@FoyChris) September 30, 2022
So, Worcester Warriors players are now:
1) Not being paid.
2) Not able to play.
3) Not able to train.
4) Not able to leave.
5) Being blamed for the Club's financial problems...
Did I miss anything? Appalling. https://t.co/eLqiAkIlRo— Rugby and the Law (@rugbyandthelaw) September 30, 2022
I’m not one to speak out of line, and I’m not even going to give airtime to that disgraceful statement from 2 ex-owners that should have been consigned to the bin.
The Worcester players and staff have been a credit to that club, it’s supporters and city. Show some dignity.— Christian Day (@christianday) September 30, 2022
READ HERE: Worcester Warriors Players And Staff In State Of 'Limbo'
READ HERE: Worcester Player Says He Was Made Homeless Due To Unpaid Wages
You can read the statement from Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring below.
“We are thankful to all of the staff that supported the club through Covid in accepting a significant reduction in their salary but sorry that the playing squad could not accept a similar level of reduction and in some players’ instances would not accept any pay cut at all despite our openness at the financial impact this would have on the club.
“We are thankful to all of the supporters who continued to support the club in any way they could, including many that donated their season ticket payment during the lockdown, and to the government for the furlough support that enabled us to keep every single staff member fully employed throughout the pandemic when many club’s and business’ were making redundancies. In doing so the club took on enormous debt like so many others but we felt it was the right thing to do.
“We are thankful to those supporters who turned up week in week out to support the club but sorry that there were not more, nor enough of you on a regular basis to help make the club financially viable despite the significant personal funds we put into the club. We are sorry that we did not have the foresight during the pandemic to cut back on the squad budget but instead remained committed to giving the club the best chance of being competitive.”
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