CEO quits crisis club Salford as owners insist ‘journey ahead is exciting’

Rugby League crisis club Salford Red Devils have accepted the resignation of its chief executive Chris Irwin, effective immediately.

The former Salford player left a commercial job at Swindon Town Football Club to return to his home city when the controversial takeover by an international consortium happened.

Irwin had to front up to the media and the Rugby Football League over the on-off takeover which has seen him running the business side of the operation “on the wire” as funds are dripped into Salford.

In a statement the club said: “We would like to thank Chris for his contribution during his time at Salford and wish him and his family all the very best in their future endeavours.

“Our focus remains firmly on the future as we continue to build on the progress made both on and off the field. The journey ahead is an exciting one, and we remain committed to our vision for growth, community engagement, and long-term success.”

Salford Red Devils claimed in February that a consortium has completed a full 100% purchase of the club, led by a Swiss businessman Dario Berta, CEO of Matanel, which it says is “an investment bank that specialises in real estate investment”. 

The club further claimed the deal has been approved by the Community Benefit Society (CBS) and by Salford City Council, which owns the Salford Community Stadium.

However, Berta’s UK business Matanel was only formed in April of 2024 and is late filing accounts at Companies House. He is not a director of any other UK business. No details have been released at this stage about other members of the “consortium”.

In February TheBusinessDesk.com revealed that the consortium’s principal was in fact Australia-based music promoter and sometime rapper Saia Kailahi, an old school friend of Salford’s assistant coach Krisnan Inu.

Fans have been left disappointed that the team has only won one game this season, and that there has been no end to the uncertainty, with caps on the squad meaning they have had to field weakened teams, and there has been a steady stream of departures to other Super League sides.

On Sky Sports in April Irwin revealed what he was tasked with cutting costs “before funds arrive.”

He confessed: “We’re working through this at the moment. The owners have asked me to keep the club on a life-thread which I’m doing.”

“My job is doing what I can control which is managing budgets, bringing down costs significantly as we were operating far beyond our means.

“That’s what I’m doing until the significant funds arrive,” he added.

Asked if he thought there would be funding for the club Irwin said: “We are right on the wire in terms of cash.

“They are drip-feeding money into us until our large funds arrive and we’ve got to cut the cloth accordingly.

“It’s a consortium, two guys are heading it up – Saia Kalahi and Kurt Graver – and the investors are behind them with a large chunk of funds in Switzerland and in LA.

“These people are not rugby league people. I think they are interested in the stadium, the land around it, the development, they are looking to put a 200-room hotel on the grounds and an indoor sports arena.

“That’s what their interests are and we are a caveat for that. We will get 20 percent of the stadium as a club which will give us more security than ever before.

“The matchday income was next to nothing but we will access those funds now.”