Source: Telegraph
Portsmouth players still not paid as Premier League expresses concern at crisis
Ahmed al-Faraj, brother of owner Ali al-Faraj, and executive director Mark Jacob met Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore as part of ongoing attempts by the League to help stabilise the position at Fratton Park.[LNB]The Premier League is deeply concerned at the position of the club, who have been served with a winding-up order by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and have outstanding debts of around £60 million.[LNB] Related ArticlesPortsmouth crisis Q&APortsmouth fail to pay team againPortsmouth's plight a symptom of Premier League excessTransfer ban stands for PortsmouthTransfer TalkSport on televisionThe Premier League has imposed a transfer ban because of Portsmouth's outstanding debts to other clubs, and has withheld a tranche of television revenue to directly pay football creditors including Tottenham, Chelsea and Watford.[LNB]The League is understood to have been reassured that the owners grasp the scale of the problems at the club, having initially claimed that they were surprised at the scale of the debts they took on.[LNB]Confidence in the new regime at Fratton Park will not have been lifted by the continued failure to pay players who should have received their December wages on New Year's Eve, and were then promised them by Tuesday evening.[LNB]Ali al-Faraj is attempting to raise a short-term loan to meet the £1.8 million owed to the players, with a further £1.5 million due to the HMRC in PAYE. It is unclear whether the club intend to pay the tax as well as the players.[LNB]The club offered no explanation for the latest delay, but the owners have blamed banking problems and a delay in paperwork on a short-term loan for the previous failures to pay.[LNB]Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, said that the club had assured him that the players would receive their money by the end of the week. He remains deeply concerned about the long-term prospects at Fratton Park, however. [LNB]'Further to talks [with Portsmouth] we are confident the wages will be paid this week to resolve the short-term position, but the long-term position still needs to be resolved,' he said.[LNB]'This is a serious situation that involves the Premier League, PFA, as well as the concerns of supporters of the club and the players.'[LNB]Meanwhile, former Portsmouth FC owner Sacha Gaydamak has insisted links between several businessmen advising the new owner and his father, Arcadi Gaydamak, played no part in the Faraj takeover.[LNB]Hong Kong-based businessman Balram Chainrai, who has lent the club £17 million secured against Fratton Park, sued Gaydamak Snr for $23 million (£14.4 million) in the Israeli courts, as did Israeli businessman Lev Kushnir.[LNB]Another adviser to Faraj, Roni Mana, once described as Gaydamak's 'middleman', is also in dispute with him. 'It is true that the individuals that you mention [Mana, Chainrai and Kushnir] have had disputes with my father in completely unrelated matters. I was not involved, therefore am unable to comment,' Sacha Gaydamak told fans website www.truebluearmy.com.[LNB]He denied that the club were being used as a battleground to settle old scores.[LNB]'I don't believe that to be the case. I have always made it clear that there is no link between my father's business interests and mine and therefore I cannot see what they would possibly gain. I can only confirm that it is a coincidence. I cannot explain how it came to happen.'[LNB]
