Hereford United and Salisbury City have been given until 5 p.m. on Thursday to sort out their ownership issues and football debts. If they fail to do so, they may be thrown out of the Football Conference.
Hereford United and Salisbury City have been given until 5 p.m. on Thursday to sort out their ownership issues and football debts. If they fail to do so, they may be thrown out of the Football Conference.
Expelling two top flight teams would be embarrassing for the Conference and would have knock on effects down the non-league pyramid. Salisbury City are confident that they can meet the requirements. They were taken over last month by Mark Winter with Dubai-based businessman Otail Touzar.
The new owners have settled a winding up petition from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs which they inherited from former owner William Harrison-Owen. They agreed to pay last month’s outstanding wages in three tranches, but the Conference has insisted that all the money must be paid over by Thursday.
At Hereford outgoing owner David Keyte is still officially recognised as chairman by the Football Association. New owner Tommy Agombar still has to be approved under the Owners’ and Directors’ test qualification. Hereford have two winding up petitions to deal with, one from HMRC.
Macclesfield Town have also been in difficulty with debts of £250,000 and delays in paying wages. However, they are on the verge of being taken over by local businessman Andy Scott.