Post by QPR Report on Aug 23, 2009 11:06:51 GMT
I guess Loftus Road is actually an oasis of calmness in comparison 
Birmingham Mail
Non-League Halesowen Town crisis: FA set to investigate after fake fags charge
THE FA is set to investigate a crisis-hit Midland football club after a former senior executive was charged with smuggling £5 million of cigarettes into the country.
Sources close to the Football Association say there are “ongoing issues” being probed at Halesowen Town.
The club has been left reeling after months of financial problems which have sparked a fans revolt and the team’s expulsion from the FA Cup.
Now it has emerged that former chief executive Guy Simpson was charged with tax evasion by Customs and Excise investigators in May.
He was arrested after officers discovered a 20 million haul of cigarettes at Southampton docks on a cargo ship from China.
Mr Simpson, 52, faces trial next month accused of avoiding £4.5 million worth of duty on the cigs, which have a street value of £5.3 million.
Peter Avery, from HM Revenue and Customs, said that the arrest followed “Southampton’s biggest cigarette haul” and that the confiscation of the smuggled goods “prevented dangerous counterfeit cigarettes from reaching the UK’s streets”.
Mr Simpson was brought into Halesowen Town by under-fire manager Morell Maison in January, but left the club last month.
His departure follows a year of turmoil at the non-league outfit.
Halesowen Town, known as The Yeltz, were banned from this year’s FA Cup after failing to pay gate receipts from last season’s competition to Maidstone United.
Rivals
The club will also not compete in the FA Trophy this year after being suspended from all competitions for failing to pay players and transfer fees to two rivals.
Manager Maison is still serving a touchline ban following an alleged violent on-field clash with striker Dean Brennan after a match against Chippenham Town last September.
Angry supporters have formed The Yeltz Trust to try to oust the soccer boss and many have pledged to boycott home games. Spokesman Gary Willetts said: “He came in with all these plans and told us we would be in the conference in three years.
“But the problems just keep appearing and the club is struggling financially.
“We’re at the end of our tether with him, and the club is falling apart. We’ve formed a consortium of shareholders and we’re aiming to force him out.”
Last night, a spokesman for the FA refused to confirm or deny that a new investigation was under way at Halesowen. He said: “The FA constantly monitors the financial matters of all its clubs and will consider any information brought to its attention.”
In a statement Mr Simpson said he had enjoyed his time at Halesowen Town, and claimed that the current court case against him had nothing to do with his role there.
He added: “I worked very hard for the club and wish the club all the best for the future.”
No-one from Halesowen Town was available for comment last night.
www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/birmingham-non-league-football/2009/08/23/halesowen-town-crisis-fa-set-to-investigate-after-fake-fags-charge-97319-24510498/
Birmingham Mail
Non-League Halesowen Town crisis: FA set to investigate after fake fags charge
THE FA is set to investigate a crisis-hit Midland football club after a former senior executive was charged with smuggling £5 million of cigarettes into the country.
Sources close to the Football Association say there are “ongoing issues” being probed at Halesowen Town.
The club has been left reeling after months of financial problems which have sparked a fans revolt and the team’s expulsion from the FA Cup.
Now it has emerged that former chief executive Guy Simpson was charged with tax evasion by Customs and Excise investigators in May.
He was arrested after officers discovered a 20 million haul of cigarettes at Southampton docks on a cargo ship from China.
Mr Simpson, 52, faces trial next month accused of avoiding £4.5 million worth of duty on the cigs, which have a street value of £5.3 million.
Peter Avery, from HM Revenue and Customs, said that the arrest followed “Southampton’s biggest cigarette haul” and that the confiscation of the smuggled goods “prevented dangerous counterfeit cigarettes from reaching the UK’s streets”.
Mr Simpson was brought into Halesowen Town by under-fire manager Morell Maison in January, but left the club last month.
His departure follows a year of turmoil at the non-league outfit.
Halesowen Town, known as The Yeltz, were banned from this year’s FA Cup after failing to pay gate receipts from last season’s competition to Maidstone United.
Rivals
The club will also not compete in the FA Trophy this year after being suspended from all competitions for failing to pay players and transfer fees to two rivals.
Manager Maison is still serving a touchline ban following an alleged violent on-field clash with striker Dean Brennan after a match against Chippenham Town last September.
Angry supporters have formed The Yeltz Trust to try to oust the soccer boss and many have pledged to boycott home games. Spokesman Gary Willetts said: “He came in with all these plans and told us we would be in the conference in three years.
“But the problems just keep appearing and the club is struggling financially.
“We’re at the end of our tether with him, and the club is falling apart. We’ve formed a consortium of shareholders and we’re aiming to force him out.”
Last night, a spokesman for the FA refused to confirm or deny that a new investigation was under way at Halesowen. He said: “The FA constantly monitors the financial matters of all its clubs and will consider any information brought to its attention.”
In a statement Mr Simpson said he had enjoyed his time at Halesowen Town, and claimed that the current court case against him had nothing to do with his role there.
He added: “I worked very hard for the club and wish the club all the best for the future.”
No-one from Halesowen Town was available for comment last night.
www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/birmingham-non-league-football/2009/08/23/halesowen-town-crisis-fa-set-to-investigate-after-fake-fags-charge-97319-24510498/