Source: Telegraph
Portsmouth players get paid after emergency loan
The funding was secured after club management and the Professional Footballers' Association had held crisis talks with the players. [LNB]The episode, which came 24 hours before Saturday's crucial game against Burnley, marks the second time in three months that the squad have been paid late and is a stark reminder of the club's dire finances. [LNB] Related ArticlesPortsmouth v Burnley: match previewPortsmouth late in wage payments to playersDowning was worth the wait, says O'NeillPremier League set for record transfer windowGrant wants to splash cash in JanuarySport on televisionIt also raises fresh concerns over the ability of new owner Ali Al Faraj to stabilise the club just two months after he became Portsmouth's third owner this season. [LNB]Faraj, who took control from Sulaiman Al Fahim after providing the funds to make up the last wages shortfall in October, has promised to refinance the club but is yet to seal a deal. At the end of October he secured a £15 million loan from a company controlled by Hong Kong businessman Balram Chainrai. [LNB]Club sources said on Friday that Faraj was confident of securing a refinancing deal by the end of the month, possibly allowing the club to reinforce the squad in January. [LNB]That will depend in large part on whether the Premier League lifts a transfer embargo imposed in October after it became clear that Portsmouth still owed significant sums to clubs in the top division and the Championship. [LNB]The Premier League, concerned at the prospect of the club's financial crisis deepening, used television revenue earmarked for Portsmouth to directly pay Arsenal and Watford outstanding fees on Lassana Diarra and Tommy Smith respectively. [LNB]Chelsea are still owed a seven-figure sum on full-back Glenn Johnson, and the Premier League will lift the ban only once that is paid off. [LNB]On Friday morning finance director Tanya Robbins, accompanied by PFA representative Nick Cusack, met senior players Linvoy Primus, David James, captain Michael Brown and PFA representative Hermann Hreidarsson. [LNB]She explained that the club needed new financing urgently and assured the players that they were addressing the wages issue. [LNB]
