LUTON TOWN DEDUCTED 10 POINTS BY FA

Luton Town Football Club have been fined £50,000 and deducted 10 League points by the FA for the start of the 2008-09 season for the financial irregularities at the club under the former owners Jayten Stadium Ltd.

The Hatters have been found guilty of 15 charges of misconduct, concerning payments to agents.

The Regulatory Commission found the club guilty of paying agents via a third party but not of paying bungs.

Former chairman Bill Tomlins has been banned from football for five years and fined £15,000.

Three other ex-directors have also been punished and six agents warned. Derek Peter was fined £3,750 and a one-year ban from football. Richard Bagehot was fined £750 and John Mitchell £250.

The agents concerned, namely Andrew Mills, Skylet Andrew, Steven Denos, Mike Berry, David Manasseh and Mark Curtis, in respect of a single charge which each faced of failing to have in place a written representation contract with Luton Town Football Club, have each received the sanction of a warning as to their future conduct.

It represents the worst-case scenario for Luton Town and the decision is a huge shock and comes as a massive blow for Hatters fans, especially considering former Chairman Bill Tomlins and the Directors Derek Peter, Richard Bagehot and John Mitchell escaped with minimal fines.

It also seems so unfair on Luton supporters – how many more times are we going to be punished? Not only have we had to contend with selling over £14million worth of players in 2-and-a-half-years, three different managers, a 10-point deduction last season and two successive relegations, we now also have to accept that we could even lose our status as a Football League club – with a further 15 points deduction highly possible for the start of next season for failing to pay a large debt owed to HM Revenue & Customs.

Like Leeds United, the Hatters could also be punished with a 15-point deduction – making it a total of 25 points deducted for the start of next season’s League Two campaign – a huge tally for the Hatters to overcome.

LTFC2020 Ltd, the new owners of Luton Town Football Club, were as stunned as anyone, and have released the following statement: -

“Firstly we think that the Football Association is completely correct to show the football world that the type of behaviour demonstrated by the past management of this club is totally unacceptable.

”econdly, we would like to reiterate that these findings relate only to past directors of Luton Town Football Club and not anyone related to, or part of LTFC2020 who have a completely new vision for the club and a policy of openness, transparency and honesty.

”Thirdly, this decision makes no difference to our commitment to being the next custodians of the club, and all of us on the LTFC2020 board are completely behind the plans we have previously placed in front of fans. Of course the size of this fine and points deduction will affect the timing of some ideas we were hoping to implement sooner rather than later, but the plans Mick Harford has for squad regeneration are completely unaffected.

”Regarding the decision today, we are very disappointed that the FA has not been able to take into account the current plight of the club and the fact that it is soon to be under new ownership. To punish the club and the fans in the future with a points deduction, when the perpetrators get away with just light fines is hugely disappointing.

”The scale of the points deduction is unbelievable when it is completely clear that the people found guilty are no longer at the club. Who, exactly, does the FA think they are punishing? Bearing in mind it was employees at the club that presented the FA with the concerns in the first place, you have to question whether the honesty of employees is valued at all by the FA. Unfortunately, rather than the perpetrators being punished in any meaningful way, it is again the fans that take the punishment for the wrongdoing of directors. We call on the FA to amend their rules so that directors of all clubs make personal indemnities for their actions – after all this is quite a normal scenario in the business world outside football, so why not in football itself? Then, blatant mismanagement, irresponsible behaviour, bending and breaking of the rules and questionable dealings will be minimised. If football really wants to clean up its act, it’s not beyond the wit of man to find a way.

”We think that these findings prove yet again that the concerns raised by ourselves, fans and the supporter groups during 2007 were indeed correct. Probity of directors is vital in any company and it is very disappointing that previous directors saw fit to bend rules to their own advantage. We were told that it was nothing to worry about, ‘A storm in a teacup’ was the exact phrase. Then there was silence when searching questions were asked by us, the fans and the BBC. Comments like this show just how incompetent the previous ownership was and this has resulted in very dark days for our great club, let alone the damage to our reputation throughout the world of sport.

”Whilst some may say that they didn’t know the extent of the wrongdoing that has taken place, it was well publicised in the press, it led to the very public dismissal of a successful manager, and if that is the excuse previous directors rely on, it shows how out of touch they were with not only the running of the club, but their fellow directors, and most importantly also the contempt they showed to the great institution they were in charge of.

”The FA has to take some blame in this. They still have to explain why they did not act the previous year when the allegations were first made? This hardly shows commitment to ‘cleaning up football’ so the media should ask them why they believed inaction at that time was the right thing to do. Someone at the FA must be held accountable rather than sweeping it under the carpet at the expense of fans.

”One good thing has come out of this – the exoneration of Mike Newell and the staff who told the FA of the very real concerns they had. We applaud them for taking the risk with their own jobs for exposing these actions. Without them, who knows how far it would have gone and what situation our club would now find itself in. It was a sorry day for our club with the media circus surrounding Mike Newell’s sacking and now we find out that it appears this happened in a vain attempt to save the skin of directors who knew full well that they were doing wrong.

”This judgement in no way affects our commitment to the club. This club has had years of mismanagement and we are here to put an end to it. Openness, honesty and transparency are cornerstones of LTFC2020 and anyone who wishes to be associated with us.

”We call on all fans to remain strong. We knew things would get worse before they got better. We have always known the club needs the full support of all fans to get through these very dark days. Next season, we need everyone to do their bit, however small, for the club they love. We need all fans to spread the word that the past decade has been the exception and not the norm. We need all fans to encourage their kids, come to games and support their club. We need all fans to be exactly what they have always been fantastic at; being the best ambassadors that any custodian could wish for.

”The FA inquiry is one of the factors that have been hanging over the head of fans and the club. It is one of the final echoes of the past to be resolved. We still have the Football League decision to come, and we will deal with that professionally too. Then we can put the disaster of the previous management to bed, a tenure that has bought he club to its’ knees, and focus solely on the future. We at LTFC2020 will do our absolute best, we will stabilise the club and we will give the fans a club to be proud of again. We have a long way to go to get the heart back into Luton Town. But the pulse is beating. And it’s getting stronger everyday!

”Keep the faith, we are proud of you all for standing firm and strong.

LTFC2020 Ltd”

Luton Town manager Mick Harford has stated that the club are likely to appeal against the decision – but any appeal will have to be funded by the LTFC2020 consortium.
Story date: Wednesday, June 4, 2008