The adequacy of the fit and proper person test has been a long running problem in football. When a club is in trouble and an apparent saviour who can show he has some money comes along it is perhaps not surprising that neither the club nor the football authorities want to probe too deeply.
The adequacy of the fit and proper person test has been a long running problem in football. When a club is in trouble and an apparent saviour who can show he has some money comes along it is perhaps not surprising that neither the club nor the football authorities want to probe too deeply.
In the case of Pompey Vladimir Antonov has spent some money. He has paid out £10.5m on transfer fees and wages and was servicing the club’s old creditors who were being paid back 20p in the pound over a five year period. Quite what will happen about their money remains to be seen.
It must be emphasised that Antonov has no criminal convictions and has never been insolvent, thus meeting two key criteria. However, the financial regulatory authorities did have some concerns about aspects of his activities and one wouldn’t have had to dig too deep to discover that.
In 2007 the Financial Services Authority refused Antonov permission to open a bank in England because of concerns about his willingness to cooperate with the regulatory body. In January 2010 an attempt by the Antonov-owned company Spyker Cars to buy Saab from GM was held up and only approved when Antonov sold his majority shareholding. The Swedish security police had found what they believed to be connections between the family of Antonov and organised crime, including money laundering.
The Football League argue they haven’t got the time to pursue such matters, but perhaps they ought to devote more resources to it. With the number of unemployed graduates around, it wouldn’t cost that much.
Indeed, all the relevant information is on the internet. Of course, one can’t believe everything that is on the internet, even Wikipedia. There is a lot of false information, speculation and half truths out there. But the amount of information about Antonov should have rung some alarm bells and prompted a more detailed investigation.
Given that the Football League does not come out of this very well, it would be particularly harsh to deduct points from Portsmouth, not that they have any football debts that I am aware of anyway.