Oldham’s must-win relegation clash with Salford abandoned after fans occupy pitch

Oldham Athletic’s must-win clash against Salford City has been abandoned after hundreds of fans occupied the pitch at Boundary Park to protest against the club’s ownership.

The club are at risk of becoming the first former Premier League club to be relegated from the Football League, with wins for Barrow and Stevenage set to send Oldham down.

Oldham were losing 2-1 when fans entered the pitch around the 80th minute, and unfurled a banner reading: “Get out of our club”.

The police arrived around 10 minutes later to marshal the peaceful protest, with the game abandoned after a 20 minute stoppage.

Manager John Sheridan was seen on the pitch speaking to supporters.

Fans have been calling for owner and chairman Abdallah Lemsagam, who took over the club four years ago, to sell the club since last September.

In a region that has recently lost Bury and Macclesfield Town in a choppy ocean of financial issues, Oldham have been another north-west club dogged by monetary problems.

As recently as July they were in the High Court to have a winding-up petition dismissed after a debt owed to HMRC was cleared.

It has been a steady descent down the divisions since Oldham became one of the 22 founder members of the Premier League in 1992. They were relegated two years later.

They were then demoted to League One in 1997, remaining in that division for 21 years before being relegated to League Two.

Oldham have not finished above 16th in any division they have competed in since 2009.