Derek Beaumont makes ‘ultra professional’ jibe as Wigan Warriors feud continues

Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont has taken aim at Wigan Warriors after the club released a statement regarding ticketing for the play-offs, twelve months on from an extraordinary battle between the two clubs.

Beaumont infamously threatened to pull Leigh out of last year’s semi-final with the Warriors due to a dispute over ticketing, with Beaumont not happy with the allocation his club was given for the contest at Brick Community Stadium.

Ahead of next week’s semi-finals, Wigan, who could host Leigh again depending on results, have released a statement on their ticketing policy for next week, confirming that the travelling club will be allocated the North Stand, which has a capacity of around 5,000. That was the same last year.

In the statement, Wigan said: “As we prepare for another thrilling contest at The Brick, our priority is to provide a fantastic atmosphere in a safe environment for supporters of both clubs. We have therefore made the entire North Stand, approximately 5,000 seats – available to supporters of the visiting club.

“This represents more than twice the number of tickets required to be made available under Rugby League Commercial’s 10% allocation rule. That allocation has been determined following professional advice from Our Ground Safety Officer and the relevant safety authorities.

The statement gained traction on social media and eventually resulted in a response from Beaumont.

Posting on X, the Leigh chief said an investigation into last year’s events had shown Wigan’s stance to have been ‘wholly inappropriate.’

“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.”

Wigan and Leigh will meet if the Leopards can defeat Wakefield Trinity on Friday night, coupled with a Warrington Wolves win over Hull KR on Saturday.

The Warriors have knocked Leigh out at the semi-final stage in the past two years.