Salford-Oldham Championship opener halted due to medical emergency in crowd

Friday night’s Championship season opener between Salford RLFC and Oldham was halted for around 29 minutes due to a medical emergency in the crowd.

The game was Salford’s first since reforming as a new phoenix club, with a bumper crowd packing into the two available sides of the CorpArq Stadium as they hosted local rivals Oldham.

Also chosen as the opening game of the 2026 Championship campaign, Friday night’s game was halted by referee Aaron Moore with a little over 32 minutes played amid an emergency in the West Stand.

Both sets of players were swiftly taken from the field, returning to the dressing rooms as the two clubs’ medical teams and the paramedics present both rushed to the aid of the supporter in need of assistance.

Around 25 minutes later, once the supporter had been transported out of the ground, the players re-emerged onto the field and completed a short warm-up before the game got back underway.

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Salford-Oldham Championship opener halted due to medical emergency in crowd

The scoreline at the time the game was halted stood at 16-0 to Oldham, with Ben O’Keefe, Ted Chapelhow and Tom Nisbet all having scored tries.

No further points were scored in the eight remaining minutes of the first half, with the visitors going on to record a 44-0 victory on the opening night.

Midway through the second half, Salford posted an update regarding the supporter on their social media channels.

The phoenix club wrote: “During tonight’s game versus Oldham, the game was paused due to a medical emergency in the stands.

“We thank the medical teams who attended the incident.

“The patient was later transferred from the stadium in an ambulance.

“We send our best wishes to them and their family members.”