IN a remarkably tight battle at the foot of Division One of the Bradford Premier league in 2023, Baildon finished sixth, despite only finishing 18 points clear of second-bottom Gomersal, who were relegated.

Crucial to Baildon staying up was the abandonment of their Division One game against Batley on August 19.

Afterwards, the league set up an investigative panel to look at the issues which led to the Batley players walking off.

And now, after receiving the evidence from the match umpires and Batley, the panel have decided that in addition to the initial decision to award the game to Baildon, a further 40-point penalty is to be imposed on Batley for not completing the game.

That reduces Batley’s points tally from 266 to 226 and drops them from fourth to sixth in the revised table, meaning Baildon move up to fifth as a result.

Batley have also had imposed six demerit points under the league’s Club Misconduct Code.

The Bradford Premier League said in a statement that Batley’s officials have committed to working with the league on improving respect between all players and umpires and to have active involvement in the league’s EDI (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) initiatives.