Oldham Athletic fans hold protest against club's owners

More than 500 fans of Oldham Athletic FC have protested outside its stadium against the club's owners.

The club was taken over by the Lemsagam family, from Morocco, in 2018. Since then, the team has had nine managers.

The Latics also sunk from League One to the bottom of League Two, has faced the threat of administration and has seen late salary payments.

Steve Shipman, who helped organise the demonstration, said protesters wanted the owners to "sell the club".

They carried a mock coffin outside the Boundary Park ground before the team's home match against Hartlepool United.

Mr Shipman, from Oldham Athletic Independent Supporters' Group and Push the Boundary fans forum, said: "The rot at the club has been in for way longer than the current regime."

Earlier this September, the Latics' owner Abdallah Lemsagam said he did not want to sell the club and that he was "more determined than ever" to make it successful.

He insisted he had "not received one single serious offer to buy the club in the past three years".

"I want to work with the fans and not fight with them," he added, pledging to attend a fans' forum with all the board twice a year.

Speaking at Saturday's protest, Mr Shipman told BBC Radio Manchester: "This is a football league club, we know there are people out there that want to buy it.

"We want to bring those people to the table and give the owner a viable option, to say lower your asking price for the club and walk away, because the situation is not going to improve while you're here."

Oldham Athletic have declined to comment.

Saturday's protest was the latest demonstration at this season's home games, including a short pause in the team's 3-0 defeat by Barrow after some fans ran onto the pitch.

Some also threw tennis balls and a flare onto the pitch at the EFL Cup tie with Accrington.

On Friday, the club sent a message to supporters, saying tickets could only be bought online and not on the day at the turnstiles.

They added there would be no alcohol sales and mandatory searches would be carried out after advice from safety officials.

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