‘Sunday league final boss’ – Jon Wilkin delivers ’embarrassed’ Derek Beaumont verdict after Wigan Warriors ticket row

Sky Sports pundit Jon Wilkin has called Derek Beaumont a ‘Sunday league final boss’ following the Leigh Leopards owners’ threat to pull his side out of Friday’s semi-final.

Leigh are due to take on Wigan Warriors at the Brick Community Stadium on Friday evening with a spot in next week’s Grand Final the prize for the winner. However, with just two days to go before that game, Wigan have released a statement detailing a written message received by Beaumont late on Tuesday night.

The Warriors claim Beaumont informed the Cherry and Whites of his intention to pull his side out of the tie due to a ticketing dispute. The Leopards were offered 5,400 tickets for the semi-final and have sold out their allocation.

That figure was reached after consultation with the ground’s safety officer and the police, with the statement outlining that is is almost double the minimum required.

The statement goes on to claim that Leigh found such a ticket offer ‘unacceptable’, before outlining that the Cherry and Whites are preparing for the semi-final as normal.

Of course, the statement caught the world of rugby league by surprise and there has been plenty of frustrated fans voicing their concerns on social media over the last few hours.

Jon Wilkin has become the latest to outline his disbelief and embarrassment, with the pundit describing the antics of Beaumont as ‘Sunday league’, ‘not befitting of elite sport’ and ‘nonsense’.

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“It’s a complete distraction, it’s complete nonsense,” Wilkin said on Sky Sports’ The Verdict. “It’s Derek Beaumont trying to strong-arm Wigan into what was already a very reasonable offer of tickets for his fans, to get more tickets.

“What he’s done is he’s thrown his toys out of his leopard print Lamborghini window and he’s trying to strong-arm the game.

“Derek came out and labelled Salford disgraceful at the start of this year because they challenged competition integrity by fielding a weak team, well what’s this? On the eve of a semi-final, he’s choosing to forfeit a game of players who have worked 9-12 months, 18 months, two years to get in a record breaking position where they finish higher than they’ve ever finished as a club before.

“Adrian Lam and a group of players have been discredited by an ownership that is essentially Sunday league final boss. That is who he is.

“It’s made what has been a very credible season under Adrian Lam, an exceptional season for him and his players, it’s not befitting of elite sport, it’s Sunday league behaviour. Credit to Wigan for calling it out.

“They’ve tried to be strong-armed by somebody to give them more tickets and they’ve just said ‘the safety of our fans is paramount’ and who doesn’t agree with that? They’re getting 4,500-5,000 tickets.

“Saints go to Hull KR for the corresponding fixture with 1,000 tickets. It’s an outrageous position and on the eve of the semi-finals, I’m now being brought here to talk about someone throwing his teddies out of the pram.

“He’s been put forward as the unelected voice of the game. Of all the club’s owners, Derek Beaumont has been put out there at the front of the queue as the voice of reason and the voice of sense. On the eve of the semi-finals he’s come forward with this ludicrous thing that we now have to deal with.

“It’s never going to happen, he’s never going to go through with it, the game is going to go ahead, it’s just a headline making piece of absolute nonsense. This is where our game is at. This is where rugby league is at right now that we have to talk about this stuff. There’s an absence of leadership, the old leadership has been thrown out by this strategic review and this is what’s left.

“Is it good enough that we’re talking about this rather than four teams who have exceptional years going into record breaking supported and watched semi-finals? It’s not. It’s embarrassing and I’m embarrassed to be connected to the sport today.”

On the game inevitably going ahead and the impact it could make on the contest as a sporting spectacle, Wilkin added: “Derek Beaumont has just handed Wigan the advantage. If I was in the Wigan dressing room now I’d want to send Leigh packing.

“If Leigh get beat at the weekend, Derek has a big hand to play in why. He’s added motivation and intensity to his opposition by being petulant and childlike and not being professional.

“He has to live with that and if they get knocked out it’ll be on his shoulders, as it is if they win, he’s be the first one on the pitch if they win it.

“In this regard, he’s made this a more emotional and intense semi-final and one that if Leigh are vanquished by the Wigan Warriors, he bears a large amount of blame.”