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It was reported on Wednesday morning that Newcastle Jets owner Nathan Tinkler was at risk of losing his license to own the A-League club unless he raised $500,000 by Wednesday.
Crisis meetings were held by Football Federation Australia (FFA) on Tuesday afternoon, the result of which was instructions being handed down to Tinkler that he would have 24 hours to resolve his obligations.
The money required is to pay a large umber of past and present Jets players and staff, including both monthly wages and superannuation that is three years overdue.
Newcastle University is also believe to be owed $40,000 in fees for the Jets’ training facilities.
The FFA has demanded that these debts be settled by Wednesday.
If Tinkler failed to comply with the demands the FFA made it clear it was prepared to revoke his ownership of the club.
An FFA spokesman said on Tuesday night that, “This situation needs to be resolved urgently. FFA is preparing to take steps to address this matter.”
David Gallop had previously warned Tinkler that he must honour his commitments in February.
UPDATE – 3:01pm: Tinkler places Jets into administration
On Wednesday afternoon is was confirmed that Tinkler has placed the Jets into voluntary administration, with debts totalling $2.7 million.
However, in a statement Tinkler told News Corp that a $5 million sale of the club to Scottish club Dundee United was imminent, pending permission from FFA.
“I have been in negotiations with the FFA over the last few days and wasn’t able to get them to guarantee the licence
“And I haven’t been willing to pay wages unless they guaranteed that so I have put the club into administration just now.
“We have had an offer in for a couple of weeks from Dundee United.
“That offer is well in excess of the debts of the club and I have asked the administrator to get that sale done and that will see everyone get paid.
“Then I can move on.
“The only risk to that is if the FFA decide to act in a morally bankrupt manner and take the licence and that presents a whole bunch of other issues.”
UPDATE – 4:27pm: FFA terminates licence of Newcastle Jets.
FFA has announced the immediate termination of the A-League licence held by Newcastle Jets Football Operations Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the Hunter Sports Group (HSG).
A new licence will be issued to a new entity owned and controlled by FFA. A club from Newcastle will remain a member of the A-League and current players of the Newcastle Jets will be offered contracts with the new entity.
The termination is based on material breaches of the A-League licence held by Newcastle Jets Football Operations Pty Ltd, in relation to non-payment of players and staff, and an ongoing failure to meet standard operational requirements.
FFA notes that HSG placed the Newcastle Jets into voluntary administration today, which in itself is an act of insolvency and a breach of the A-League licence conditions.
FFA CEO David Gallop said HSG had been given every opportunity to continue as the owner and operator of the licence, but it was unable to meet the conditions required to do so.
“FFA has taken this action to protect the interests of the football community in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, and to safeguard the image and reputation of the A-League and its member clubs,” said Gallop.
“Newcastle needs a club operating in a stable environment with certainty of resources in order to be successful and competitive in the A-League and to properly represent the community. HSG has proved to be incapable of meeting these requirements.
“HSG has behaved in a deplorable way towards the players and staff of the club in failing to meet basic obligations to pay wages. Anyone who takes control of a sporting club has an obligation to respect the people and the traditions of that club.
“HSG has failed miserably to in this regard. Today’s action to terminate the licence is the first step to restoring the proud traditions of football in Northern NSW.”
Gallop said that FFA will continue talks with several parties interested in the future ownership structure of the A-League club in Newcastle.
“First of all, we will listen to all the key stakeholders in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley,” said Gallop.
“This region has incredibly strong community values and any future ownership needs to have people at the heart of things.
“That’s a core value for football in Australia and something we are very committed to in relation to the A-League club in Newcastle.”
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