Oldham Athletic are RELEGATED from the Football League for the first time after fans storm the pitch

Oldham Athletic have been relegated from the Football League for the first time in the club's history following a troubled 2-1 defeat at home to Salford City.

The referee was forced to postpone the game after furious Oldham supporters stormed the Boundary Park pitch to protest against the ownership, a pause which lasted for nearly two hours.

The players then emerged after the near 120-minute postponement of the game to complete the final 10 minutes of the match behind closed doors, before Oldham's fate was sealed with the defeat. 

Oldham fans were protesting for current owner Abdallah Lemsagam to sell the club

Davis Keillor-Dunn, who had equalised for Oldham, had to be escorted off the pitch

With the club on the verge of relegation out of the Football League for the very first time before kick-off, goals from Matt Smith and Brandon Thomas-Asante appeared to seal the fate of the old club.  

Oldham briefly held hope of a miraculous escape after Davis Keillor-Dunn equalised from the spot. 

They rallied after falling behind for a second time in the game, but with fans on the pitch and not even manager John Sheridan being able to coax them off, their fate appeared to be sealed. 

However, after a lengthy delay the match restarted in an empty stadium. A reporter at the game said that fans who were still drinking in the Joe Royle bar at the ground had their view blocked by advertising hoardings.

Ten minutes before the end, fans left angry by the actions of Abdallah Lemsagam since he took over the club in 2018 stormed onto the playing area and unfurled a banner in the centre circle reading 'GET OUT OF OUR CLUB'.

Oldham fans sat on the pitch at Boundary Park in protesting, causing the game to be delayed

The protest by the fans caused the game to be postponed for nearly two hours on Saturday

The relegation means Oldham have become the first founding member of the Premier League to drop out of the Football League altogether, a fact that confirms the sorry state of affairs the club has been allowed to get into. 

An EFL statement after the game read: 'This afternoon's Sky Bet League Two fixture between Oldham Athletic and Salford City has been concluded behind closed doors.

'The remaining 14 minutes played resulted in a final scoreline of Oldham Athletic 1 Salford City 2 and as a result Oldham Athletic have been relegated from League Two.

'Despite the earlier announcement of the abandonment of the fixture, after discussions with both Clubs, match officials, and stadium security it was agreed the match could be concluded today. 

'The decision was taken in order to maintain the integrity of the competition given the importance of the fixture at both ends of the League Two table.'

Gary Neville, at the game on Saturday afternoon as co-owner of the visiting team, tweeted that he left Boundary Park after the atmosphere had turned 'moody'. 

The fans were then blocked from watching the rest as they played out the final 10 minutes

He tweeted: 'Just left Oldham v Salford. Oldham fans on the pitch and it's pretty moody.'

A video that emerged on social media appeared to show Oldham manager John Sheridan attempting to reason with fans to get them to vacate the playing area. 

His attempts at doing so proved unsuccessful, with the chants for the ownership to leave the club only growing more and more vociferous. 

Oldham fans' relationship with Lemsagam since his arrival in the north-west in 2018 has been a fraught one, with the club being relegated out of League One in his first season at the ownership helm.