The Money-Go-Round: Dunfermline Athletic F.C. + Heart of Midlothian F.C.
First off, if you know where I stole the title you’re at the right site.
Second, I hope there comes a day- soon- when I don’t have to report on things like this.
Dunfermline Athletic F.C., who are currently in administration have a very important date coming up on their calendar. On July 30 the group attempting to save the club from liquidation- Pars United- will present an offer to the club’s creditors. If the offer is accepted the club will avoid the SFA’s £150,000 penalty for starting the season in administration and its ban on signing new players. If the offer isn’t accepted, the fine will be imposed, the transfer ban will remain in place and liquidation will be all but a certainty. This for a club that was, as recently as 2011-2012, a member of the Scottish Premier League.
In better- if not “good” news- the deadline for making bids to purchase Heart of Midlothian F.C. has come and gone with three different offers having been submitted. Although administrators BDO cannot announce the names of the bidders, the bidders themselves have come forward so we know who they are:
- Foundation of Hearts: A group formed by Hearts supporters for the purpose of saving/buying the club.
- HMFC Limited: A group backed by the American company Club 9 Sports.
- Five Stars Football LTD: A group which includes Angelo Massone, a man who should have been banned from involvement in Scottish football for his role in Livingston F.C. financial collapse.
Hearts, of course, will start season 2013-14 with a 15-point deduction, which they incurred when they entered administration. The point deduction likely means that Ross County F.C. will remain in the SPL for one more season even if they produce only a mediocre effort this year.
I was shocked when i heard Rangers had fallen. They were one of the only clubs that really contested against Celtic for the Scottish premiership! Now I’m reading another Scottish team is about to suffer a similar fate! Its so sad when clubs go into administration, I always feel sorry for the fans…