Worcester’s total debt is reported to be £25million
Financially strapped Worcester Warriors have been given permission to play this weekend after proving they can safely host games at Sixways.
Sunday’s Premiership game against Exeter can go ahead after they showed Rugby Football Union (RFU) that they have received a general safety certificate.
The club met the Friday midday deadline for the game to go ahead.
The duel between Worcester and the Harlequins Women on Saturday in the Allianz Cup will also be held as originally planned.
in one post on social media, Warriors rugby director Steve Diamond said attendance at the men’s game was limited to “around 5,000” at the 11,500-capacity stadium.
He added that there was “a lot of hard work by people behind the scenes in difficult circumstances.”
Both Worcester and Exeter delayed their teams’ announcement for Sunday while the safety issue with the RFU was resolved exposed warriors threatened from all competitions if they had not been issued with the appropriate certificate.
The RFU said they were “pleased that the matter has been resolved” and “acknowledge that this has been a difficult and uncertain time” for those in Worcester, as well as their opponents this weekend.
However, questions about the future of the club up for sale remain unanswered.
Shortly after the announcement, Worcester employees – who received at most 65% of their August wages – released a statement saying they were “very upset” by “constant broken promises and lack of communication from above”.
They added: “We hope new owners will come in with a clean departure from the owners currently in position.
“Recent events have added to an already frustrating and uncertain situation for all of us, and we cannot promise that goodwill will continue indefinitely.”
On Tuesday, Warriors’ owners said they did agreed to the terms of the sale of the ailing club, who was served with a settlement application from HM Revenue and Customs in August over an unpaid £6m tax bill.
The sale to unidentified interested buyers has yet to be completed, leaving the club at risk of entering administration.
The game’s governing body said they are still working with the club on the situation.
“The RFU, Premiership Rugby and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will continue to work with the Worcester Warriors owners over the coming days on funding and potential new owner proposals,” the RFU said in a statement.
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