Oldham Athletic FC has refused press access to two reporters from a local news website over a dispute with its editor.
The Oldham Owl, a recently-launched platform in the Greater Manchester borough, had requested accreditation from Oldham Athletic for two reporters, both former students who graduated over the summer.
However the request was turned down amid a dispute with the Owl’s editor, Will Holdaway, a former editor of the club’s matchday programme who has also covered matches for the Oldham Reporter.
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The League Two club, who older fans will remember plying their trade in the Premier League when Joe Royle was manager in the nineties (and may have a derby with Man City again soon the way things are looking this week) has, Holdaway claims, said its decision was based on concerns about the conduct of the editor “both online and in person”
Holdaway has also claimed that the club has prevented a freelance photographer from supplying match photos to the Owl, a claim which the club has denied saying: “The club has not instructed any photographer to stop supplying photographs to the Oldham Owl, nor has the club threatened their accreditation in order to prevent them from doing so.”
The Owl has circumvented this obstacle by sourcing photos from the crowd in return for a £5 donation to a local hospice.
Holdaway told Hold the Front Page: “Jack and Ben are starting their careers. Their applications should be assessed on their own merits.
“As an experienced match reporter, I know that both can do a stellar job for The Oldham Owl. That’s why I chose them. They have enormous potential and The Oldham Owl wants to play a part in their honing their craft and building a professional portfolio.
“The club has a dispute with me. I reject its allegations, but whatever it thinks of me, neither Jack nor Ben should lose professional opportunities because I commission their work.
“We are asking for one reporter at each match. All we want is for their applications to receive a fair assessment on their own merits.”
Holdaway edited Oldham Athletic’s match programme during the 2024-25 season but resigned, saying the club “did not share his ambitions for the programme.”
He has conceded that while some of his subsequent match reports and coverage of club matters for the Oldham Reporter were critical of the club, it had never made a formal complaint about his coverage.
He applied for matchday accreditation for himself in November 2025, but was rejected on the basis of insufficient space in the media area.
In later correspondence, the club cited alleged conduct at earlier fixtures, including a home match against Tamworth in November 2024 and an away match at Southend United in March 2025.
Holdaway also rejects those allegations, saying a subject access request disclosed no complaints about the incidents cited, and continued working for the club until August 2025.
In its latest written response to Will, seen by Hold the Front Page, club secretary Mark Sheridan said the club had decided “not to grant media accreditation to you or the Oldham Owl at this time,” citing the previously stated concerns about his conduct in person and online, and adding that it did not intend to engage further on the matter.
In a lengthy post on LinkedIn, Holdaway has accused the club of “anti-competitive media practices,” claimed to have “circumstantial evidence” that AOFC has “leaned on other clubs to deny us media access to away games,” and noted that both of the young reporters the club has refused to accredit are Oldham fans, with one holding a season ticket.
Prolific North has approached Oldham Athletic for comment.
Image: oldhamathletic.co.uk
