KEIGHLEY’S OWNERS Ryan O’Neill and Kaue Garcia have announced their departure from the club, citing IMG’s involvement in the sport and social media abuse as contributing factors.
The pair, a married couple, took over the club in 2019 and won League 1 in 2022.
A statement on social media read, in part: “For the past seven years, we have done everything we could to serve this club to the best of our abilities.
“We are immensely proud of many of the achievements we have accomplished both on and off the field.
“From saving this great club, to improving the facilities from what we inherited, to having the perfect campaign in 2022, to showing solidarity with the Ukrainian kids facing the challenges of war, bringing football to Keighley and also a great concert that will hopefully put Keighley on the map and make residents feel proud of this town.
“We stuck our necks out and fought the IMG involvement in rugby league, for which we were ridiculed by many – but we did what we thought was right for the sport, and we believe time has proved we were right.”
They added: “However, through the seven years of this journey, social media has increasingly become a hostile environment, where a minority have chosen to direct personal abuse towards us on an almost daily basis, both on public forums and in direct messages.
“Much of that criticism centres around our commitment to inclusion, our support for the LGBT+ community, and the accusation of ‘not knowing what we are doing’ because we are a gay couple who supposedly know nothing about rugby. We heard countless times that we should “focus on rugby” rather than other initiatives.
“After the 2023 season, the volume and intensity of the abuse became overwhelming. It affected our sleep, our wellbeing and our mental health. We both experienced periods of immense stress and emotional exhaustion, to the point where we both were prescribed anti-anxiety medication. At times, the pressure became incredibly difficult to cope, so much so that we just wanted to up and disappear.
“After a lot of reflection we have made the difficult decision to step away from our roles as custodians of Keighley Cougars at the end of this 2026 season.
“Over the coming months, we will work to find a suitable new owner who shares our passion, values and ambition for this great club, and who can continue the work of taking Keighley Cougars to greater heights.
“Thank you for allowing us to be part of this remarkable story.”
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