A Salford Red Devils fan group have reacted after a key figure at the club resigned and made serious allegations against the club’s ownership.
Chief Operating Officer Claire Bradbury took to LinkedIn to confirm that she had resigned, speaking out against the situation at the club and accusing ‘ownership’ of ‘misogynistic’ and ‘inappropriate’ language.
Within that statement, Bradbury alleged that it had been suggested by ‘ownership’ that she should “sleep with an individual at the RFL to ‘smooth things over'”, something that Serious About Rugby League have contacted the Red Devils for comment upon.
Understandably, Bradbury’s statement has been met with outrage and now a Salford Red Devils fan group have had their say, announcing that they have cancelled their proposed meeting with the club’s owners and are left with “one clear position”, that being ‘owners out’.
The 1873 are a fan group who, in their own words, are “demanding the truth and accountability from the top, to protect 152 years of Salford rugby league history”.
They had confirmed a meeting had been arranged with the owners, however, that has now changed.
Salford Red Devils fan group cancel owners meeting after disturbing allegations
In a fresh statement off the back of Claire Bradbury’s resignation, the 1873 have launched a statement of their own calling on action to be taken and for more fans to join their proposed protest ahead of Sunday’s game against Wakefield Trinity.
The 1873 posted on social media just over 24 hours ago correspondence where the ownership group confirmed that they were ‘committed to making this meeting work’, however, the fan group have now cancelled it and explained why in a statement.
Their statement read: “The 1873 can confirm that, despite previously arranging to meet in person with the club owners, in light of Claire Butters’ (Bradbury’s maiden name) powerful and disturbing statement, we have decided to cancel this meeting indefinitely. The allegations of appalling conditions and misogyny are of the utmost seriousness, and we stand in full support of Claire.
“As a condition of the planned meeting- and for the utmost transparency between supporters and to protect the integrity of discussions, The 1873 requested that the meeting be audio recorded for public release. The owners rejected this on the grounds that sensitive information regarding the bridging loan might be discussed. In response. The 1873 revised the condition, agreeing to pause any recording during any reference to the bridging loan. This revised condition was also denied.
“After careful and further consideration- and taking into account Claire’s statement, Krisnan Inu’s defence of the owners yesterday, and the owners’ own statement dated 11th August-we concluded that any meeting would not be productive or constructive. It would only result in the same lies and manipulation that we have already heard and seen.
“Whilst we originally set out to demand answers, the developments that have occurred during this week now lead us to one clear position – the owners must go. We would rather face the consequences of administration or even liquidation, and the challenges that would bring, than support a club run by people with such terrible values who treat others in this way.
“We implore those responsible for governance within the game to take these allegations with the seriousness they deserve and act accordingly.
“We further invite all rugby league fans to stand with us and support our protest this Sunday.”
UPDATE: Following today’s shocking developments, The 1873 have cancelled our planned meeting with the club owners. The events of today leave us with one clear position – owners out.
Full statement below:
The 1873 pic.twitter.com/lMyBeaYBON
— The 1873 (@The1873_) August 14, 2025
