Source: Daily_Mail
Premier League have obligation to save Portsmouth, says West Ham co-owner
Portsmouth should be saved from extinction by an emergency cashadvance from the Premier League if all other avenues fail, according toDavid Gold, co-owner of relegation rivals West Ham. [LNB]Portsmouth, who claim to be in 'advanced talks' with potentialbuyers, have until Wednesday to present proof to the High Court thatthey should not be wound up over tax debts which now exceed £12million.[LNB] Under pressure: Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie[LNB] Portsmouth FC: All the latest news from across the webSouthampton 1 Portsmouth 4: Avram Grant hails Pompey heroes after cup win over SaintsDES KELLY: Portsmouth are cheats, so let them go to the wallWest Ham United FC: All the latest news from across the webIf no new investment is found in the coming days, the club and latest owner Balram Chainrai will come under extreme pressure to put the company into administration before the HM Revenue and Customs petition is heard again on March 1. [LNB]The Premier League are reluctant to bring forward an £11m television rights payment due to Portsmouth and all other clubs in May. [LNB]But Gold, who also called for the debate over a salary cap and other financial controls to be re-opened, believes they must not let Portsmouth go out of business. [LNB]Gold, whose new club West Ham would sink to the bottom of a 19-team Premier League if Portsmouth folded, said: 'Anything that impacts on the integrity of the Premier League has to be addressed and if a club go bust, all the points are wiped out, giving an advantage to some clubs and a disadvantage to others. [LNB]'That can't be right. For that reason, you have an obligation to save a football club. [LNB]'We have allowed Portsmouth to get into this mess. The brand is 20 Premier League football clubs. We must take responsibility.' [LNB]Since Wednesday's High Court hearing, the Premier League have been in talks with HMRC, pointing out that the club are due to receive £11m in May and, in the event of relegation, a parachute payment in August of about £16m, up from £11m thanks to new overseas TV deals. [LNB]Gold standard: David Gold says Premier League have an obligation to save Portsmouth[LNB]Gold believes that Portsmouth should be penalised for requiring a cash advance by being handed less than they would be due in May, with the difference shared among the 19 other clubs. [LNB]But the League remain reluctant to give special treatment to Portsmouth, with other owners thought to be less supportive than Gold.[LNB] It remains possible that the Premier League would pay HMRC directly and demand Portsmouth accept a nine-point or similar penalty in return, but they and financial experts believe administration is now the only fair and sensible option. [LNB]The club and Chainrai continue to resist that course, since it would bring a nine-point penalty, certain relegation and, most significantly, little hope of Chainrai recovering his loans totalling £17m. [LNB]But without proof of a new buyer ready to become Portsmouth's fifth owner in a year, corporate recovery experts Vantis will struggle on Wednesday to refute HMRC's claim that the club are insolvent.[LNB] It should probably come as little surprise that the firm Portsmouth have chosen to draw up survival plans are in financial trouble themselves and, like the club, they have executives who have been charged with tax evasion. [LNB]Vantis are conducting the administration of the Stanford International Bank, the collapsed business run by disgraced cricket entrepreneur Allen Stanford, but have not been paid because the American authorities have frozen the bank's assets. [LNB]When Vantis announced interim losses of more than £9m earlier this month, auditors Ernst & Young said 'material uncertainties associated with receipts from the Stanford insolvency . . . may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern'. [LNB]And in October, two leading executives from Vantis were among five people charged with cheating the public revenue over an investment scheme involving celebrities and sportsmen. [LNB]The day after Portsmouth's dramatic appearance in the High Court last week, former manager Harry Redknapp and former owner Milan Mandaric appeared in magistrates' court on charges of tax evasion, with chief executive Peter Storrie facing the same allegation. All deny any wrongdoing.[LNB] Portsmouth FC: All the latest news from across the webSouthampton 1 Portsmouth 4: Avram Grant hails Pompey heroes after cup win over SaintsDES KELLY: Portsmouth are cheats, so let them go to the wallWest Ham United FC: All the latest news from across the web[LNB] [LNB]
