A LATICS supporters’ group has announced plans for large-scale protests against Abdallah Lemsagam’s ownership.
Push The Boundary has vowed to step up the pressure on the Moroccan former football agent with calls continuing for him to sell the club after more than three years at the helm.
The return of fans this season has seen both on and off-pitch protests and tennis balls being thrown onto the field of play to halt the Carabao Cup tie with Accrington.
PTB and supporters’ trust the Oldham Athletic Supporters’ Foundation did secure a meeting with Lemsagam this week but, not satisfied with the tone and outcomes, vowed to explore their next steps.
The former, which has led demonstrations in the past, has now revealed they will be protesting at upcoming games, starting against Leyton Orient on September 11, while actively exploring options for new ownership of the club.
It comes after another group of fans, The Athleticos, were told their banners and flags needed to be removed from Boundary Park.
A PTB statement read: “There will be protests, starting with action taken at the Leyton Orient game, followed by a full protest at the Hartlepool home game on Saturday, September 18.
“All of these will be held in a safe, law-abiding manner, and when conducted professionally this will only garner more support and attention.
“Details of protests will be released over the next couple of days, and this will include a variety of ideas that we hope supporters will be happy with and feel they can get on board with.
“The theme for this will be “Your Protest, Your Way” as we appreciate that certain fans wish to continue to attend home and/or away game whereas others will choose to boycott all matches.
“We therefore need an approach that allows as many people as possible to be involved.
“Due to time constraints of contacting relevant authorities (police, media etc) prior to the weekend, we have no plans to protest prior to the home game vs Barrow this forthcoming Saturday.
“We want any protest we do to have maximum effect and we don’t want to rush anything and for it to detract from our message.”
In terms of new ownership, PTB said they would be reaching out to past interested parties while also ascertaining any potential avenues of investment from the local business community.
The statement continued: “Supporters have aired concerns previously regarding alternatives if/when Abdallah leaves the football club. PTB knows that parties have been interested throughout his tenure and as mentioned previously, are aware of bids that have previously been submitted.
“These obviously need to be brought to the table and put in front of Abdallah once more, given supporters want the current owner to sell up.
“As part of this point, we will be looking to meet any existing contacts we have that may bring more investors/potential parties to the table, in an attempt to provide viable and suitable alternative ownership options that would allow the current custodian of the club to step to one side.
“PTB will be developing a wider database through gathering local company data through Companies House and look to make contact with suitable businesses within the Oldham postcode to ascertain any interest in our cause, whether that be financially or otherwise.”
Having announced a closer working relationship with trust OASF, both groups are also working to increase their volunteer base.
PTB added: “In conjunction with OASF, we will be looking to undertake a skills audit amongst supporters, where people can provide details of their personal strengths and what way they can volunteer to help.
“We have seen via conversations with other clubs trusts’ that there are generally a wide range of skills that can be tapped into by people that are only too willing to help.
“We will be discussing this shortly with OASF to ensure both parties have access to any volunteers who may pledge their help if/when necessary.”
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