Leigh ‘preparing as normal’ for Wigan semi – owner

Derek Beaumont, the owner of Leigh Leopards, claims that their team is still “preparing as usual” for Friday’s Super League play-off against Wigan Warriors (20:00 BST).

When Wigan claimed in a statement on Wednesday that Beaumont had informed them in writing that the Leopards had no intention of playing the game, the semi-final was put in doubt.

Later that night, Beaumont responded by writing a 4, 000-word statement of his own, clarifying the position of his own club.

He claimed a private WhatsApp message exchanged with Wigan’s CEO Kris Radlinski was a “formal notice” rather than a “formal notice” in anger over cancelled tickets.

Leigh was given 4,800 tickets for the game at Brick Community Stadium, which quickly ran out with fans before purchasing tickets elsewhere, which were later canceled.

For the play-off game, both teams have named 21-man squads, with a Wigan spokesperson confirming to BBC Sport that everything is going as expected for any home match.