Derek Beaumont’s fresh outburst on Wigan ticketing row as boycott promise made amid ‘zero respect’ claim

Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont says he has ‘zero respect’ for Wigan Warriors after the ticketing debacle which shrouded the build-up to the pair’s play-off semi-final in October, with an RFL investigation still ongoing.

The Leopards and the Warriors met at The Brick Community Stadium in the semi-finals of this year’s Super League play-offs, just as they had done 12 months prior in 2024.

Wigan were victorious on both occasions, with this year’s victory achieved by an 18-6 scoreline in a gripping contest which remained in the balance throughout.

But the shine was taken away from 2025’s semi-final showdown between the two neighbours by a ticketing row between the two clubs after Wigan alleged that Leigh, and Beaumont in particular, had refused to play the game.

Those allegations stemmed from Leopards supporters seeing tickets they had bought in Wigan areas of the ground cancelled, with the away end allocation of around 4,800 snapped up almost immediately.

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‘It was unacceptable to me, to our fans and our sponsors and we simply won’t tolerate it’

In-between Wigan’s initial allegation and the game itself, Leigh owner Beaumont released a statement in excess of 4,000 words addressing the situation.

And just a few days after the game took place, it was confirmed that the Leopards had lodged an official complaint with the RFL over not just the ticketing allocation row but the manner in which their supporters were treated on the night of the semi-final at The Brick.

Speaking to a selection of the media – including LoveRugbyLeague – on Wednesday night at Leigh’s home kit launch for 2026, Beaumont confirmed that the RFL investigation remains ongoing and made his feelings towards Wigan abundantly clear.

He said: “I’ve never heard anything from them, I refused to shake (Wigan chairman) Chris Brookes’ hand.

“You can’t behave like that and then come and think you can shake someone’s hand and it’ll be okay – that’s far from okay.

“I still reserve my position on it. I’m waiting until the outcome of the RFL’s investigation into it. Depending on what the outcome of that is will depend on what I do, or if I do anything.

“It was despicable. Unprecedented actions to keep fans from going into the stadium and turning them away on the night of the stadium and causing massive queues, patting them down.

“It’s just despicable behaviour. It was unnecessary, ringing up people and cancelling their tickets and trying to use the excuse that pyros were used the season before.

“It was unacceptable to me, to our fans and our sponsors and we simply won’t tolerate it.

“I don’t know (when the outcome will be decided). I know it has started, I sent an email to send some various details in, and I know a lot of sponsors did to (RFL chair) Nigel Wood directly.

“We won’t do to them what they did to us, they (Wigan supporters) will come here and get treated exactly as you should treat every other away fan.”

‘As it stands, there’s no relationship with Wigan, I certainly won’t be attending their stadium and I have zero respect for them’

On the night of the semi-final, The Brick was far from full: with a crowd of 18,523 watching on in a venue which can hold more than 25,000 at full capacity.

Notably, Leigh‘s allocation was reduced from what it could have been as the Leopards opted to take up unallocated seating as opposed to reserved in the away end.

For now, the arguments around who, if anybody, is to blame will rage on behind-closed-doors. But as things currently stand, Beaumont says he has ‘zero respect’ for the Cherry and Whites.

On whether the two clubs could kiss and make up, the Leopards owner said: “That’s on them.

“What happened to our fans, if they’re vindicated by the punishment that Wigan receive, and the malicious tweet that was put out referencing the email late at night, when it was a private message.

“You can’t share private Whatsapp messages, I reserve my rights on that.

“The fact of the matter is, they’ve put a tweet out there incorrectly and knowing it’s incorrect, because they had a formal email that took two hours to write and went to all the owners of Super League, Super League Europe and RL Commercial highlighting issues and clearly stating that we fully intended to play the game.

“If the RFL deals with it correctly, then that can be that and it’s up to them how it moves forward.

“As it stands, there’s no relationship with Wigan, I certainly won’t be attending their stadium and I have zero respect for them.”

‘I’m not going to put a stamp on where we play saying ‘Progress With Unity’. There is no unity’

Leigh earned their spot in the semi-final at Wigan by beating Wakefield Trinity in a play-off eliminator on home soil the week prior.

Notably, that game took place at the ‘Progress with Unity Stadium’, with the Leopards’ home ground renamed in the build-up to that clash with Trinity: taking on the name of the ten-year plan being led by Wigan Council which aims to create fair opportunities and help its communities thrive.

As part of that initiative, figures from the Leopards, the Warriors and Wigan Athletic Football Club all took part in a video about the community within the borough.

But now, after the ticketing row and the frayed relationship between themselves and the Warriors, they have opted not to use the ‘Progress with Unity Stadium’ name. Instead, when they play at home, the venue will still be recognised as the Leopards’ Den at Leigh Sports Village.

That decision was confirmed to supporters at Wednesday night’s kit launch, and Beaumont explained: “There is no unity, I’m not going to put a stamp on where we play saying ‘Progress With Unity’. There is no unity.

“It’s a council stadium, they can call it what they want, but it won’t be that when we play in it.

“They (Wigan Council) accept that. They tried to intervene in what was going on, but ultimately there’s not a lot they can do. They understand that it was wrong and it wasn’t respectful.

“We’ll treat Wigan fans with the utmost respect, it wasn’t their fault, and I’m very surprised that a man like Kris Radlinski and Chris Brookes, a man I had the utmost respect for, that they would follow out instructions to do what was done. 

“It was very disappointing because of the work that had been done only a week or so before.

“I took part in a video speaking strong words that I firmly believe in to do with unity, fairness and equal opportunity. Then it’s smashed all down, after the work that was done.”

After beating Leigh in the semi-final, Wigan – who had claimed back-to-back Super League titles prior – went on to lose the Grand Final to Hull KR.

Beaumont concluded: “We went from the borough that had all four trophies in Wigan’s hands (in 2024), the year before all four shared between them and us, to having none (in 2025).

“The Lord works in mysterious ways.”