Founder Premier League club Oldham Athletic relegated from Football League

Oldham Athletic have become the first team to play in the Premier League to be relegated from the English Football League.

The Latics were part of the first Premier League season in 1992-93, where they avoided relegation on goal difference, before going down to the second tier in 1993-94.

Oldham had been a part of the Football League for 115 years, but defeat to Salford City – owned by former Manchester United players including Gary Neville, David Beckham and Paul Scholes – on Saturday sealed their relegation from League Two, and they will play in the National League next season.

The game was not without incident, with Oldham fans invading the pitch at Boundary Park with 14 minutes to go to protest against the club’s ownership, which saw the match apparently abandoned with the score 2-1 to Salford.

The final 11 minutes of the @SkyBetLeagueTwo fixture with @SalfordCityFC was played to a conclusion later this afternoon behind closed doors, with the game finishing in a 2-1 defeat.

Results this afternoon now mean we will be in the National League from next season. #oafc pic.twitter.com/1l8hj1vNSz

— Oldham Athletic (@OfficialOAFC) April 23, 2022

However, the EFL confirmed later on Saturday that the final minutes of the game were played behind closed doors and the score remained unchanged.

“This afternoon’s Sky Bet League Two fixture between Oldham Athletic and Salford City has been concluded behind closed doors,” the statement posted to the EFL Communications Twitter account read.

“The remaining 14 minutes played resulted in a final scoreline of Oldham Athletic 1 Salford City 2 and as a result Oldham Athletic have been relegated from League Two.

“Despite the earlier announcement of the abandonment of the fixture, after discussions with both clubs, match officials, and stadium security it was agreed the match could be concluded today.

“The decision was taken in order to maintain the integrity of the competition given the importance of the fixture at both ends of the League Two table.”