Chester City to face League officials over unpaid tax bill

Tue 2nd Feb 2010 | Legal

Chester City officials have been asked to reconvene their shelved meeting with the Football Conference to outline the exact state of their finances according to a BBC report.

The up-for-sale Blue Square Premier club were asked to attend a meeting in Birmingham prior to last week's High Court date over an unpaid tax bill.

But Chester failed to send along any of their relevant club officials.

And, despite being handed a six-week adjournment in their tax bill case, the Conference still wants to talk to City.

Representatives of the Football Association and Football League are also expected to be involved.

City avoided a winding-up threat in the High Court last Wednesday. But their case, over an unpaid £26,025 tax bill, is not over, having simply been adjourned until 10 March.

And, despite the club having also this week been put up for sale for just £1 by owner Stephen Vaughan Jr, any deal would involve taking over the club's other debts.

Although there has reportedly been more than one interested party, there have still been no takers.

But Chester supporters group City Fans United were offered the chance to buy the club last week when one of their representatives was texted by current City chairman Stephen Vaughan Jr.

In a statement, the CFU said: "We have sent a request to the solicitors dealing with the sale of the football club, asking them for further details regarding the purchase of the club.

"And we are currently awaiting a response from Brabners Chaffe Street Solicitors following this request."

After almost being refused permission to play in the Blue Square Premier this season by the FA, crisis club City's problems have since escalated on and off the field.

They currently stand rock bottom, 29 points adrift of safety, with only 19 games to go - and relegation now looking a racing certainty.

They have already got through two managers this season, Mick Wadsworth and Jim Harvey, and have been under the guidance of a director of football, former Sunday League manager Morell Maison, since Boxing Day.

And the CFU are encouraging fans not to attend home fans for the rest of the season in protest at the running of the club.

Added to that, the players have twice threatened to go on strike over unpaid wages dating back to November.

"We feel that the treatment of the players is disgusting," added the CFU statement.

As it turned out, Saturday's game against Grays, at which strike action had been threatened, was cancelled not due to a strike - but because of the weather.

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