Oh Deary Deary Could This Be The End Theirry Theirry
Lawyer plays down Arsenal fears
Arsenal say they do not have control of any other clubs
Leading sports lawyer Mel Goldberg claims Arsenal have little to fear from a Fifa probe into their dealings with Belgian club Beveren.
Fifa is investigating whether a £1m payment made by Arsenal to Beveren breaches conflict of interest rules.
Goldberg told Five Live Sport: "Uefa and Fifa have rules about clubs owning shares in foreign teams.
"I don't think that's happened here because Arsenal say, rightly, they have no control of a foreign club."
BBC's Newsnight learned that the Fifa probe arose from a Belgian police investigation into money laundering.
Arsenal have a public arrangement with Beveren to play friendly matches and loan players to them to gain experience.
The Gunners also signed Emmanuel Eboue from Beveren for £1.5m.
Goldberg added: "There are two sets of rules you need to look at.
"One is the Premier League rules which prevent clubs owning shares or an interest in another Premiership or Football League club. That hasn't happened here.
"Then there are Uefa and Fifa rules which are similar, about clubs owning shares in foreign teams, and I don't think that's happened either."
The Belgian police investigation forced Arsenal to admit they had indirectly loaned Beveren £1m, although previously they had denied putting any money into the club.
A statement from the Gunners said: "Arsenal confirms it has never owned, directly or indirectly, any shares in Beveren or had any power whatsoever to influence its management or administration."
posted by United We Stand @ 7:05 AM
6 Comments:
Embarrassing, but this is what happens when businessmen run football and your club.
Are Arsenal squeaky clean? Nah, you'd have to go down to non-league to find a club that is and maybe not even there. Are the businessmen that run the club savvy enough to skate the line most of the time? Yeah, the likely answer is that they are.
This is getting a bit of mileage right now because A) it embarrasses us and Arsenal are unliked in Britain because of our success and foreign-ness, and B) there's just sod all else going on right now but nevertheless, the back pages must be filled.
Interesting however that the media is alway quick to dish out the maximum punishment when truth be told, the likelyhood of the maximum penalty being applied to a top and well connected club is really very unlikely. Expect the FA to call David Dein in, ask him to turn out his pockets and I bet they'll settle for whatever wadge he's got on him at that moment.
Don't be smug mate. Glazer is not a billionaire because everybody liked him so much, they had a whip-round. His respectability is vaneer thin. And you lot were the breeding ground for that slime Kenyon. That stain doesn't wash off because he's just slithered down to London. I'm waiting for the media to be as thorough and as willing to jump to print when they investigate Roman Obramavich. Or is Jeremy Paxton worried that some burly hitman will ring his doorbell and leave a .9 millimeter calling card in his skull?
I've been reading reports on this "scandal" all morning long and, honestly, it baffles me. Don't all of the big teams have relationships with clubs in, say Africa, to play matches, scout players and so on? Arsenal deny any ownership relationship - end of story, right?
Can any of you legal experts explain why this has even made the tabloids when there's Rooney's foot and Theo's girlfriend to talk about?
Because the signator on the loan of 1M GBP is David Dein and that's all between Beveren and the wolf's door.
No question is it shady because right after the ink dried on this magnanimous gesture, Beveren had a clear out of every Benoit, Boudwin, and Henk and started bringing in Ivoirians that we'd been nurturing through an academy deal there. These Africans then play 2 seasons in Belgium, and then are elligible for some EU status that helps along their work visas and then Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue arrive at Highbury ready for action.
I think it's the lawyers skating the line on the regs--applying the letter, rather than the intent of the law about no club having controlling interest in another.
But I also think that it's something that a lot of Prem clubs are doing and probably doing in the same way. It's just that we're not smart enough to form a corporation to loan Beveren the money without putting flippin' Dein in as the CEO. Surely there's a cut-out between the club and this GOAL PPLC that could have been used without involving the GM of AFC.
Embarassing, but I predict it'll blow over.
According to RTC, Dein has already stepped down from his role at Lancaster Gate this morning, so things may be moving quickly on this story. Doesn't sound as if you'd be sad to see him walk the plank at Ashburton Grove either, right?
I don't think he stepped down. He was voted out!!!
In step David Gill.
My mistake. Thanks for the correction.
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