RL Commercial Managing Director, Rhodri Jones, has admitted that the central distribution advance given to Salford Red Devils is still yet to have been repaid.
The financial issues of the Super League club have been well documented, so much so that they remain in special measures and under a £1.2 million sustainability cap.
With the Red Devils struggling for manpower, and with player sales continuing to happen with the likes of Marc Sneyd leaving for Warrington Wolves and Brad Singleton to Castleford Tigers, Jones asked whether Salford would be able to fulfil their fixtures for the remainder of the year.
He replied: “That’s the hope and the intention. I’m not necessarily here to talk about Salford as that’s an RFL matter but we certainly hope so.”
That being said, Jones did acknowledge that the attention generated by the Salford fiasco has had a negative impact, but that it is outweighed by the positive news emanating from the sport.
Jones continued: “I’m not here to talk about that stuff but it has an impact as people recognise it and do see it.
“From our perspective, there’s a lot of positive stories to come out from on the field and people are engaging with the sport.
“It’s our job to keep things like that and maintain it.”
The Red Devils were given an advance of £500,000 by the RFL towards the end of last year – and Jones has admitted that the figure still is yet to be given back.
“This will be the last question I answer on it, but that (the central distribution) is still to be repaid.”
