Embargos, HMRC Payment defaults, non payment of wages, the usual under Dai Wrongge

[maffff]

Regarding today's FA sanctions

STAR are disappointed to learn of the harsh FA sanctions announced today against Reading FC for intermediary regulation breaches.

We are immensely grateful to Nigel Howe, Michael Gilkes and Sue Hewett for their many years of dedicated service to the Club and are pleased that the Club is providing them with support.

We know contract negotiations with agents are frequently complex and require difficult negotiation. In this instance an agent, previously suspended in 2017 for entering into a contract with a minor despite not being authorised to do so, pushed Reading FC towards entering a prohibited clause into dialogue regarding the players contract. In 2019 this player was due to sign their first professional contract and it's very possible negotiations would not have completed without the agent receiving additional financial incentives to their £25,000 fee.

What is clear from the judgment is that this particular prohibited clause was instigated by the agent in question, therefore this is where we would expect culpability to ultimately fall.

We are, however, pleased that through the hard work of Nigel, Michael and Sue we protected Reading FC by retaining the player. Not only short term, but also in securing a release clause which also has a future fee based on profit, which may further secure the Club's future. We were privileged to watch him progress through our academy, flourish in our first team and we are extremely proud that he is on the path to having an incredible career since his departure.

We are also relieved to see that these sanctions contain sensible mitigations which enable Nigel Howe to continue working hard to complete the sale of the Club to a new owner.

https://twitter.com/STARReading/status/ ... 88jMQ&s=19

[Snowflake Royal]

So when Bowen said there wasn't a sell on clause he wasn't telling the truth?.....

I'm shocked...

I’m reading the FA decision to mean the agent got 10% of what the club received for Olise when we sold him to Palace (or would’ve done if the clause was active) - I can’t see any reference to a sell on fee should Palace sell him (someone point it out if I’ve missed it).

https://www.thefa.com/-/media/files/the ... final.ashx

Page 6, section 23.

[Franchise FC]

So fine the club and punish NH immediately but give the agent 6 months grace, that sounds fair.

Be interesting to challenge the agent’s deal through the courts.
If it’s an illegal term it has the potential to be voided
Problem is, though, is it against FA rules or contrary to law ?

[Snowflake Royal]

The agent has a prior offence as well.

[Clyde1998]

So when Bowen said there wasn't a sell on clause he wasn't telling the truth?.....

I'm shocked...

I’m reading the FA decision to mean the agent got 10% of what the club received for Olise when we sold him to Palace (or would’ve done if the clause was active) - I can’t see any reference to a sell on fee should Palace sell him (someone point it out if I’ve missed it).

https://www.thefa.com/-/media/files/the ... final.ashx

Page 6, section 23.

Thank you.

[Clyde1998]

So fine the club and punish NH immediately but give the agent 6 months grace, that sounds fair.

Be interesting to challenge the agent’s deal through the courts.
If it’s an illegal term it has the potential to be voided
Problem is, though, is it against FA rules or contrary to law ?

That poses a question - if it’s only against FA rules, I assume the club would legally have to pay the percentage to the agent as agreed in this contract, should the terms of the clause be active. Could that see the club liable to another sanction from the FA?

[PieEater]

So when Bowen said there wasn't a sell on clause he wasn't telling the truth?.....

I'm shocked...

I’m reading the FA decision to mean the agent got 10% of what the club received for Olise when we sold him to Palace (or would’ve done if the clause was active) - I can’t see any reference to a sell on fee should Palace sell him (someone point it out if I’ve missed it).

https://www.thefa.com/-/media/files/the ... final.ashx

That link is a brilliant read and says a lot more about what happened. I think we've been overly penalised for not breaking any rules.

I like Howe after this quote when that agent asked for the fee

“Well, I think, my-, excuse, I know this is recorded, but my first reaction would be,
'You can oxf*rd right off.' but, you know, I think it's all part of negotiation. You know, as
far as I'm concerned, string the guy along. It doesn't sound-, I mean, to me, it's a
negotiation. I don't feel like I'm doing anything wrong stringing the bloke along. I'm
not making any promises. It's all subject to contract. You know, when we get to the
crunch, we're going to give him the bad news, and kick him in the wherevers.”

[Linden Jones' Tash]

So when Bowen said there wasn't a sell on clause he wasn't telling the truth?.....

I'm shocked...

I’m reading the FA decision to mean the agent got 10% of what the club received for Olise when we sold him to Palace (or would’ve done if the clause was active) - I can’t see any reference to a sell on fee should Palace sell him (someone point it out if I’ve missed it).

https://www.thefa.com/-/media/files/the ... final.ashx

That link is a brilliant read and says a lot more about what happened. I think we've been overly penalised for not breaking any rules.

I like Howe after this quote when that agent asked for the fee

“Well, I think, my-, excuse, I know this is recorded, but my first reaction would be,
'You can oxf*rd right off.' but, you know, I think it's all part of negotiation. You know, as
far as I'm concerned, string the guy along. It doesn't sound-, I mean, to me, it's a
negotiation. I don't feel like I'm doing anything wrong stringing the bloke along. I'm
not making any promises. It's all subject to contract. You know, when we get to the
crunch, we're going to give him the bad news, and kick him in the wherevers.”

I'm glad I don't work in football...

[From Despair To Where?]

It does feel like the club were playing a bluff, knowing that the clause would never pass muster legally and could never be included in a written contract.

It does seem a bit harsh to be penalised for something that was never activated, and in all likelihood was never going to be included in a contract. but in the circumstances,maybe it was seen as an unwanted distraction and best to take a slap on the wrist and draw a line.

Howe's no longer involved in player contracts anyway and from once the club sale is completed, I'm not sure he was ever going to have any day to day involvement in running the club, so apart from the fine, it's a pretty nothing punishment and all seems like a fat waste of time, except for the FA being able to flex it's muscles and show how serious it is about governing the game.

[Snowflake Royal]

It does feel like the club were playing a bluff, knowing that the clause would never pass muster legally and could never be included in a written contract.

It does seem a bit harsh to be penalised for something that was never activated, and in all likelihood was never going to be included in a contract. but in the circumstances,maybe it was seen as an unwanted distraction and best to take a slap on the wrist and draw a line.

Howe's no longer involved in player contracts anyway and from once the club sale is completed, I'm not sure he was ever going to have any day to day involvement in running the club, so apart from the fine, it's a pretty nothing punishment and all seems like a fat waste of time, except for the FA being able to flex it's muscles and show how serious it is about governing the game.

I doubt Gilkes and the lady who's name I forget are ok with an official reprimand.

[grey_squirrel]

I don't profess to understand most of this, but we have been massively fined for something that was not of our making, never came to fruition and that the real guilty party gets off relatively scot-free? Is that it?

And the mastermind ('in whom we trust'/trusted) behind our complicated sale, Mr Howe, gets banned as a consequence.

You couldn't make this up.

What is it with football clubs these days?! Bend, break, ignore the very clear rules of governance and think they'll get away with it.

We've gone from a decent, respected, honest club steeped and layered in integrity to a ramshackle, cheating band of scumbags.

Just how many more skeletons are still in the closet?

[Biscuit goalie]

I think we are the money launderers for manc sh!tty, we are the patsy's for them

[PieEater]

I don't profess to understand most of this, but we have been massively fined for something that was not of our making, never came to fruition and that the real guilty party gets off relatively scot-free? Is that it?

And the mastermind ('in whom we trust'/trusted) behind our complicated sale, Mr Howe, gets banned as a consequence.

You couldn't make this up.

What is it with football clubs these days?! Bend, break, ignore the very clear rules of governance and think they'll get away with it.

We've gone from a decent, respected, honest club steeped and layered in integrity to a ramshackle, cheating band of scumbags.

Just how many more skeletons are still in the closet?

Maybe you should read the link because it's none of that.

They humoured an agents outrageous demands to get Olise to sign his contract, knowing these demands were against the rules and would never get signed or past the FA.

[blueroyals]

I love that the agent had the cojones to send an unsolicited invoice for £800,000 without a formal contract in place. And he seemed genuinely surprised when we didn't pay it

I too would like to try my luck invoicing random companies for ~1 million pounds, you never know

[Linden Jones' Tash]

I love that the agent had the cojones to send an unsolicited invoice for £800,000 without a formal contract in place. And he seemed genuinely surprised when we didn't pay it

I too would like to try my luck invoicing random companies for ~1 million pounds, you never know

But isn't that the point - it appears that this industry is rife with these kinds of practices - hence the ease with which money can be laundered...

Just read about the trial of that agent and the former Chelsea director - sending muscle to collect an expensive watch from someone's wrist while in a fancy restaurant in lieu of payment...

Didn't it used to be brown envelopes at motorway service stations...

[Franchise FC]

I love that the agent had the cojones to send an unsolicited invoice for £800,000 without a formal contract in place. And he seemed genuinely surprised when we didn't pay it

I too would like to try my luck invoicing random companies for ~1 million pounds, you never know

There was (and possibly still is) a major scam where a group would issue invoices for relatively small amounts to thousands of companies and it’s surprising how many simply paid them because their systems basically just approve anything up to a certain level

From what I reme they only got caught because they upped the values and that raised questions
Greed will always get you in the end

[Snowflake Royal]

I love that the agent had the cojones to send an unsolicited invoice for £800,000 without a formal contract in place. And he seemed genuinely surprised when we didn't pay it

I too would like to try my luck invoicing random companies for ~1 million pounds, you never know

There was (and possibly still is) a major scam where a group would issue invoices for relatively small amounts to thousands of companies and it’s surprising how many simply paid them because their systems basically just approve anything up to a certain level

From what I reme they only got caught because they upped the values and that raised questions
Greed will always get you in the end

I'm amazed that works given the jobsworth arseclowns I've encountered in finance who seem incapable of actioning the simplest of invoices for proper payment in a timely fashion.

[South Coast Royal]

I love that the agent had the cojones to send an unsolicited invoice for £800,000 without a formal contract in place. And he seemed genuinely surprised when we didn't pay it

I too would like to try my luck invoicing random companies for ~1 million pounds, you never know

There was (and possibly still is) a major scam where a group would issue invoices for relatively small amounts to thousands of companies and it’s surprising how many simply paid them because their systems basically just approve anything up to a certain level

From what I reme they only got caught because they upped the values and that raised questions
Greed will always get you in the end

Wasn't there another scam implemented by bank employees where somehow they pocketed all the fractions of a penny and minor percentages later on of pennies in decimal currency.
With billions of transactions involved those minor amounts added up.

[Forbury Lion]

Howe's no longer involved in player contracts anyway and from once the club sale is completed, I'm not sure he was ever going to have any day to day involvement in running the club, so apart from the fine, it's a pretty nothing punishment and all seems like a fat waste of time, except for the FA being able to flex it's muscles and show how serious it is about governing the game.

The new owners might have considered Howe as a suitable CEO to run the club, based on his past experience and success achieved on a relative shoestring..... assuming they don't stick with Dai Pang or appoint someone else.


If the 10% (£800k) payout to the agent was the result of an illegal clause in the contract, then surely the FA should insist that the agent repays it in full otherwise the agent has benefitted from this transfer and they should withhold his licence.

[Forbury Lion]

I love that the agent had the cojones to send an unsolicited invoice for £800,000 without a formal contract in place. And he seemed genuinely surprised when we didn't pay it

I too would like to try my luck invoicing random companies for ~1 million pounds, you never know

There was (and possibly still is) a major scam where a group would issue invoices for relatively small amounts to thousands of companies and it’s surprising how many simply paid them because their systems basically just approve anything up to a certain level

From what I reme they only got caught because they upped the values and that raised questions
Greed will always get you in the end

Wasn't there another scam implemented by bank employees where somehow they pocketed all the fractions of a penny and minor percentages later on of pennies in decimal currency.
With billions of transactions involved those minor amounts added up.

Superman 3, Richard Pryor's character gets a job at Lex Luther's corporation and starts moving all the odd cents to his own account.

Lex is holding court on the top floor when he hears of this and whilst looking out the window says something like "sooner or later the thief will give the game away" just as Pryor's character pulls up in view of the window to his low wage job in a spanking new bright red Ferrari

From experience, large corporations are aware of these small balances and basically write them all off resulting in a nice windfall in the accounts.