0:45 Charlton manager Lee Bowyer speaks to Dickie Davies about his concerns on how the fixture delay could impact players whose contracts expire on June 30, especially if clubs run short of money
Yes, for about six weeks now. Their disagreement between the shareholders spilled over into the public domain on March 9 when Nimer made allegations against Southall on Instagram – his platform of choice during the saga.
Nimer accused Southall of mis-using club funds during his time as executive chairman, releasing accounts to show a £12k per month flat rental in central London, the purchase of four Range Rovers for himself and his advisers, as well as the payment of thousands of pounds in consultancy fees.
Southall denies the allegations and in turn accuses Nimer of failing to put any money into the club, despite promises as part of the takeover. He has told Sky Sports News that Nimer has not been able to satisfy the EFL requests as he does not have the money he claims to.
However, Charlton owner Nimer told Sky Sports News he would immediately inject money into the club, helping to safeguard its future during the coronavirus crisis.
“I will never let them down,” he said. “We are ready to inject the money [since] day one [that] we arrived. If there is anything short-cut in the club we are going to support it. We will start on the pitch, we are going to start to maintain the club immediately, change the lighting, refurbish it. This is one of our plans we are going to do.”
Sky Sports News understands funds had not been put into the club when the EFL wrote to Nimer last week.
But the biggest battle to date in what has become a bitter civil war for control of the club took place last month.
On March 19, Nimer chaired a board meeting via conference call when he removed Southall and Heller from their positions. Two new board members were appointed in their place, Romanians Claudiu Florica and Marian Mihail.
Southall maintains that process was unlawful and he remains executive chairman of Charlton Athletic. He remains 35 per cent shareholder.
Speaking to Sky Sports News following the meeting, Nimer reiterated his confidence that he has definitively won the boardroom battle for control of the club, saying: “Matt Southall is no longer the chairman of Charlton Athletic, he has been removed and my authority as a major shareholder allows me to do this.
“He lied to people actually when he said the club is safe until December. Now we are going to inject the money because we found that there is no money in the club.”
What else has been said?
0:45 Outgoing Charlton owner Roland Duchatelet opens up on the ups and down at The Valley and says there is no chance of running another English club again
On April 17, club director Mihail answered questions provided by the CAST and gave an update on when potential funds could be put into the club.
He said: “The board’s immediate focus is getting the club through these unprecedented times. At this stage, we don’t know when and in what form football will return and our priority is making sure Charlton is in a stable position, whenever that is. As we mentioned in our previous statement, this will require investment from the ownership and the first installment of that investment will come into the club towards the end of this month.
“Our longer-term strategy will ultimately depend on whether we are in the Championship or League One next season with planning for both eventualities in place.
“Either way, the stability and growth of the club will need to come from stable funding. That stable funding in any club comes from the owner but it is also important the club can generate revenue too. If the club’s financial wealth is linked only to its owner, then that isn’t healthy for the football club. So our focus will be using the funds injected by the ownership and the funds that come into the club (e.g. sponsors, player sales, ticketing) to stablise and grow the club.”
He also gave an update on Southall and Heller’s involvement at Charlton, saying: “Matt Southall continues to be on the ESI board as a B director as is his right as a B shareholder. Jonathan Heller was appointed to the ESI board independently and has not expressed an intention on leaving. I must reiterate neither are involved at the club or in the decision making.”
Are Charlton under a transfer embargo?
Not quite, it is technically a ‘registration embargo’ which prevents the club from increasing its spending beyond current limits, such as adding any new players to the wage bill without first selling someone to make space.
This only came to light in March when the EFL released a statement confirming that ESI was yet to provide it with proof of funds.
The revelation caused a lot of anger amongst Charlton fans who feel they were tricked during the January transfer window, with promises of significant investment from the new owners that never materialised.
In his recent Q&A, Mihail gave an update on the embargo, saying: “The current board of directors has only been working on getting the embargo lifted since just before Claudiu and myself were appointed to the Board of Directors last month, so the process on the lifting of the transfer embargo is not as far along as we would like.
“The club has submitted documents for EFL approval to demonstrate the source and sufficiency of funds. Conversations with the EFL are ongoing and the EFL remain supportive and have informed us what remains outstanding.
“The club has also submitted documentation for Claudiu and I as the new directors, for the Owners’ and Directors’ Test. No final decision has been received, but we are confident we will both pass the test.”
Anything else?
Just a couple of things. Away from the EFL investigation, the takeover is also under threat by an ongoing legal action by a group of former directors. They left around £7m in the club following relegation from the Premier League to make sure it did not go bust, on the charge that should Charlton win promotion back to the top flight, they would get their money.
But the secured creditors also hold a unique position over the club where they have any final say on major changes, such as a sale or splitting of the assets, like the stadium or training ground.
Some of those directors are now calling that debt in, and unless Nimer is prepared to settle the case, then a court could rule that the takeover was void in any case. A first deadline for repayment has already passed, and the group must now decide on how to proceed.
Speaking about the issue, Mihail said: “The club received an initial letter from former directors of Charlton Athletic last month saying they were looking to take legal action to unpick the sale of the club to ESI in January.
“This dispute does not just involve the club but also the other companies that previously owned the club, as well as ESI, which is a separate company from the club with more than one owner. For this reason, we can’t talk publicly on this other than to say that no other legal proceedings have taken place at the time of writing [on April 17] – no case has been filed and no additional letter has been received by the club.”
Elsewhere, Duchatelet also remains the freeholder of The Valley and the training ground at Sparrows Lane, which ESI has a “legal obligation” to purchase within the next five years. At the moment, they only own the football club.
And let’s also not forget that, despite the current suspension of the season, Charlton have slipped into the Sky Bet Championship relegation places. A drop back into League One would see a reduction in revenue and unlike the previous relegation from the Championship, there are fewer player assets to sell off. Add to that the high number of loanees in the current squad and the January transfer restrictions, which could yet be extended.
Sourse: skysports.com
