Super League: Wakefield Trinity handed 48-0 victory after Salford Red Devils fixture cancellation

The RFL has confirmed that Wakefield Trinity will be awarded a 48-0 victory from their cancelled Super League fixture against Salford Red Devils.

The club said in a statement released on Friday evening they had made the decision to cancel the fixture amid "significant concerns regarding player welfare", with only two senior players available for the home fixture along with 15 academy products.

The RFL met to decide the outcome of the fixture and stated: "Following the cancellation of the Round 22 Betfred Super League fixture between Salford Red Devils and Wakefield Trinity which was scheduled for Sunday August 17, the RFL Board have ruled that the match should be awarded to Wakefield Trinity with a scoreline of 48-0.

• Salford Red Devils cancel fixture against Wakefield Trinity due to 'player welfare'
• Salford Red Devils owners insist club 'will not close' despite financial turmoil
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"This is in line with Operational Rule B1:23, and taking into account the circumstances behind Salford's cancellation of the fixture, and the advanced stage of the Betfred Super League season."

Salford's financial turmoil has resulted in major uncertainty over the club's future, with late wage payments, a mass exodus of players and 19 losses in 21 Super League games combining to create a bleak picture.

Although the club insist the decision is a one-off and that they will field a team against Leigh Leopards this week, the move will inevitably raise concerns over their ability to complete the season, with five more rounds remaining.

Despite the cancellation of the fixture, Salford fan group 'The 1873' still went ahead with their planned protest, with a raft of fans showing up for the march that ended at The Salford Community Stadium.

Afterwards they released a statement saying: "We promised fans their voices would be heard and they were - and we promise they will continue to be heard.

"Let's be clear: this is not a one-off. This is just the beginning.

"If the owners thought the fans would simply lie down and accept watching our club being ripped apart, they were very wrong."

Carney: Sorry Salford saga continues...

Sky Sports Rugby League's Brian Carney:

"Two competition points go to Wakefield and the sorry Salford saga rolls on.

"Salford are a club - and this will be no news to sports fans - with not a lot of money. A few years ago, they had a whip round in essence amongst their fans and they raised about £350,000 to invest in the club. Well, not long after that, they were forced to sell two of their better players to Leeds for about £350,000 as well, so the writing was on the wall.

"This came to a head about November of last year when they went to the governing body and said: 'Can we get an advance on our central distribution?' Money that's meant to be drip fed throughout 2025. That set off a lot of bells at the central office and it got people scrutinising Salford's finances in great detail, which I believe has led to the strategic coup that's ongoing in the game.

"In essence, Salford's goose was cooked after that. They had no money, a whole season to try and complete and the person that owned the club had to try and look for outside investment.

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"He thought he found investors, but they too, it appears, had not got access to money to help Salford. But what they did have was an interest in land that surrounded the stadium. The council who owned the stadium and the land were not prepared to sell that to anybody unless they took responsibility for the club on as well.

"That is the current state of flux we're in at the moment. We've got new owners that have admitted publicly they don't really want to own the club, they want the land around it at the stadium. You've got a group of supporters that are asking the question: 'Who on earth is going to look after our club beyond 2025?' There's a pot of money that is extinguished.

"Payroll is due at the end of this month, and maybe most importantly, you've got a HMRC winding up petition to meet at the start of September.

"Debts have doubled this year. At the start of September the owners of Salford are going to have to show HMRC how they're going to fund that taxpayer debt or else perhaps the curtains will come down."

'Time is not right for Super League expansion - no logical justification to in 2026'

More from Sky Sports Rugby League's Brian Carney:

"I'm all for expansion, who on earth would not be for expanding their sport? Of course it has to be done at the right time and you have to be able to finance it. I don't believe this is the right time, and I don't believe the game can finance expansion.

"So, am I pro-expansion? Yes. Am I pro-expansion at this moment in time? Absolutely not. And I have not seen a coherent, logical justification for expanding in 2026.

"I have seen very little evidence that the game is ready right now financially to expand to 14 clubs.

"Is there an existential fear for the game? No. The passion and enthusiasm for the sport of rugby league, particularly in the north of England, means the game absolutely will not die.

"The people that are in charge of the game now, some of them are dragging it in the wrong direction, but the majority of people are good people and they will not let the game die, and more importantly, the people that own the game: the supporters, will never let this game die."