Batley Bulldogs chairman Kevin Nicholas hailed after Oldham coach Matt Diskin hits out at the RFL over insensitive response

Diskin hit out ahead of a return to Toulouse with his new club Oldham in the Betfred Championship next month.

The 38-year-old was in charge of Batley last August when young player Archie Bruce was found dead in his hotel room after making his debut away to Toulouse.

Diskin was present during attempts to revive Bruce and revealed that experience – and the aftermath of the tragedy – led to a recurrence of depression he had suffered since 2010 when he moved to Bradford Bulls from Leeds.

The situation was made worse, Diskin said, when he discovered Oldham would be staying this season in the same hotel where Bruce died six months earlier.

Requests for a transfer to different accommodation were, allegedly, turned down by the RFL, but Diskin has hailed Bulldogs chairman Kevin Nicholas for stepping in and funding the cost of staying elsewhere in the French city.

Diskin contacted The Yorkshire Evening Post to voice his anger at the governing body and also his gratitude to others in the sport for their support.

In a letter to The YEP, Diskin said: “The RFL are guilty of mismanaging our game for self-serving interests rather than serving the people that make the sport the ‘greatest game of all’ – that is the players, the coaches, the community game and most of all the fans.

“For our game to really progress to the level it deserves, the institution needs dismantling. Only then can the game move forward.”

Revealing his personal struggles, Diskin added: “Through two administrations with the Bradford Bulls you soon learn who and what people really care about and, unfortunately, it’s not the future of Rugby League.

“My move to the Bulls led to a very tough time in my life in regards to my mental health and since 2010 we – me and my family – have suffered with my depression. This battle has once again come to the fore over the last six months following the tragic death of Archie Bruce.