Hearts admit they can’t pay wages

By Moira Gordon
Published on Thursday 17 November 2011 19:00

Players fear they might not be paid again as transfer window exits loom as club blames cashflow problem on £1m tax bill and shortfall in transfer money

HEARTS have admitted that they can’t afford to pay their players, after monthly salaries due yesterday were once again delayed.

Blaming a £1m tax bill – which the club claims was settled this week – and a shortfall in transfer monies, the Tynecastle club issued a statement yesterday which said that salaries are expected to be paid into the senior players’ accounts at the earliest opportunity.

But the club could not confirm when exactly the payment would be deposited in the players’ bank accounts, rendering it the second time in two months that senior squad members have been told they will have to wait an indeterminate length of time for the wages which are due on the 16th of each month.

In recent years players have grown used to minor delays, claiming that they often have to wait an extra couple of days but there is concern that they now face another spell of uncertainty so soon after last month’s fiasco. The October wage was paid 19 days late and tested the squad’s patience. With players expected to depart in the January transfer window, some fear they might not be paid again before they go.

Earlier this month they had been due to lodge a complaint with the SPL when manager Paulo Sergio intervened to stop his players taking action. As a result the players gave the club an extra few days to deliver and were paid 24 hours later. They had hoped that would be the end of the matter but yesterday they were disappointed once more when they checked their bank accounts and while the club at least explained what the problem was this time, the players say that offered little solace, especially as the message was so grim and several have already instructed their agents to find new clubs for them as soon as possible.

Which could be the kind of action the club’s owner, Vladimir Romanov, had hoped to provoke. Having made it clear that he sees a future based around the young academy graduates, that current disenchantment could simply serve to accelerate the club’s intention of offloading as many high earners as they can. More than a dozen will be out of contract come the summer but the cash-strapped capital side are hoping to rid themselves of more than double that from the first team and youth ranks as they seek to rein in their spending.

Romanov has recently made public his desire to find a partner or a buyer for the club he took control of in 2005. Claiming that he hadn’t lost interest in the club but he had lost interest in football, he said that he was no longer willing to plough millions into the game. Already more than £30m in debt they have accepted that their current outgoings are unsustainable but a club spokesman yesterday insisted that while the current gap in funding was an issue, it would be resolved.

A statement posted on the club website said: “We expect salaries to be paid into the senior players’ accounts at the earliest opportunity and have informed the players of this today [Wednesday]. The club is experiencing an income shortfall due to lower than expected transfer monies. Our future funding is secure but requires time to be organised.

“The club also unfortunately failed to reach agreement with HMRC which would have allowed it time to pay a tax bill in excess of £1 million, that was settled in full yesterday.

“As such we are currently looking at options to identify new income opportunities and obtain funding for the players’ salaries.”

It is understood the transfer money referred to relate to an instalment in the 2007 transfer of goalkeeper Craig Gordon to Sunderland – sold for a record £9 million – with another six-figure sum due when he had made 100 appearances for the English Premier League club.

But the Scotland international is still several games shy of that tally and has been out of the team since sustaining an injury last season.

Given that he has not played since February, it would be flawed to have factored that potential payment into the budget plan at this moment in time.

That is what has angered players and their representatives, with the possibility of the Scottish Premier League being asked to intervene once again a live one.

They have made it clear that where contracts have not been honoured they have power to redirect monies due to clubs – such as their share of commercial revenue from sponsorship – straight to players to cover overdue and unpaid wages. The next tranche of payments is due after Christmas.

SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster said that no formal approach had been made by Hearts players to date but it is one of the options the players have said they will again consider once they have had discussions over how to deal with the latest situation with their union representatives.

“We are disappointed that once again our members’ wages have not been paid on time, said PFA Scotland chief executive Fraser Wishart.

“I wrote last month to the club asking for an undertaking that they would take steps to ensure that this would not be repeated.

“The fact that the wages were three weeks late last month caused many players some financial problems and left them unable to fulfil their commitments.

“Once again there will be an expectation that our members will simply turn up to train and play without any certainty as to when they will be paid.

“I have, therefore, emailed the club to once again ask for a definitive undertaking as to when the wages will be paid.

“We will be in discussions on this matter with our members in coming days. Our members are only too aware of the various legal options open to them as they have had to suffer this previously.

“The players have shown a great deal of patience in recent times and PFA Scotland is ready to follow their instructions at short notice.”

The players face Dundee United at Tannadice on Saturday. They are seeking their first win since the October wage row blew up, having failed to score in their last three games since the issue hit the public domain at a pre-match press conference ahead of the home defeat to Rangers.

Taken from the Scotsman