I was surprised and disappointed to see Michael Carter, the Chairman of Wakefield, pitching into the appeal by Bradford Bulls to try to get back some of the six points they were deducted for having gone into administration.
“It’s going to stick in my throat a little bit if the penalty for going into administration ends up being nothing,” he said.
“I wouldn’t make a decision now but it would probably be the beginning of the end for me in rugby league I would have thought because it seems to me, if you do the right thing, then you’re not really getting the rewards.”
That’s an unwise thing to say because it seems that the Wakefield Chairman is trying to put pressure on the RFL tribunal that will hear the Bradford case.
And that tribunal, when it meets early next month, can hardly be expected to comply with his wishes. It has to be seen to be completely neutral. So there is little point in making such a statement.
I have great sympathy for Mr Carter, and I’ve no doubt that many Wakefield supporters will feel the same way.
But I suspect that he wouldn’t have made that comment it if it hadn’t been for relegation having been restored this season.
If Bradford do get some or all of their points restored, they will be that much closer to Wakefield near the bottom of the league. That’s the sort of excitement that Wakefield probably feel they could do without.
