RFL respond as aspects of Keighley Cougars’ statement refuted after club ‘awarded’ zero IMG points

The Rugby Football League have responded after Keighley Cougars released a statement claiming a decision to award them zero IMG points was a ‘targeted attempt to silence and punish’ them.

That extraordinary claim came from the League One outfit when they shared a club statement to confirm that they would score zero points on the IMG grading system for 2025.

The reason for that was because they submitted their data late, something that is punishable with zero points being awarded, as outlined in grading handbook provided by the Rugby Football League (RFL) to all clubs at the start of the season.

The very final bullet point of the handbook, found here, states: “Data Capture Form submission dates will be strictly adhered to. Failure to meet the deadline will result on no grading score for the club for 2025.”

Keighley claimed their submission was “less than 24 hours late”, however, the RFL have now responded to that with Serious About Rugby League in receipt of a statement from the sport’s governing body.

Rugby Football League share statement after Keighley Cougars bemoan IMG score of zero

That statement confirms that all League One clubs had to submit data on Monday September 8th with any who missed that deadline contacted the very same night to confirm their IMG score of zero.

Per the RFL, Keighley made contact on Wednesday September 10th, over 24 hours after the deadline, to ask for an extension, which was subsequently refused.

Keighley’s examples of both Batley Bulldogs and Whitehaven missing the deadline in 2024 but still being given scores according to the Cougars was also addressed by the RFL.

In fact, both clubs scored zero officially but they were informed of what their score would have been so that their financial distribution for 2025 could be worked out.

The statement in full reads: “The full list of club grading scores will be confirmed in the week starting October 13 – first to clubs, and then through digital channels and the media. The deadline for League One clubs to submit information was Monday September 8 – this has been communicated on numerous occasions throughout the year. Clubs who missed that deadline were contacted that night and informed they had missed the deadline, and would receive a zero score.

“Keighley Cougars contacted the RFL on Wednesday September 10 asking for an extension. That was refused, consistent with the way two clubs (Batley Bulldogs and Whitehaven) were treated last season – those clubs received a zero score, although the RFL subsequently worked with them to determine what their score would have been for the purposes of their ranking with regard to financial distribution.”

Keighley owners Kaue Garcia and Ryan O’Neill have been vocal critics of the IMG process and even claimed within their statement on Saturday night that the decision from the RFL felt ‘very retaliatory and targeted’, before adding that they felt it was a ‘targeted attempt so silence and punish’ the West Yorkshire club.

Serious About Rugby League has launched a brand new podcast which can be watched in full on our YouTube channel here.

Statement: Keighley Cougars handed ZERO points for the 2025 IMG Grading by @TheRFL

READ IN FULL: https://t.co/ip9e8KYTsa pic.twitter.com/v2vxKNygbM

— Keighley Cougars (@Cougarmania) October 4, 2025