Blackpool football club placed into receivership by High Court

Blackpool FC

Blackpool football club has been put into receivership by the High Court.

The club has been put into receivership so it can be sold and the proceeds used to pay off some of the £22m owed by the owners, the Oyston family, to the Latvian banker Valeri Belokon.

Owen Oyston, the 85-year-old owner of the club, was ordered to buy Mr Velokon out for £31.27m in November 2017.

Following the announcement the English Football League said it would consider the matter next month.

Chief executive Shaun Harvey said: “We will be seeking an early meeting with the receiver, so as to ensure that the best interests of the club can be jointly considered, against the context of our regulatory framework.”

According to Football League regulations any club that becomes subject to an insolvency event could be deducted 12 points.

Mr Belokon’s legal team at Clifford Chance LLP, said they hoped the decision would “herald a new chapter in the proud history of a prestigious club”.

A statement said: “The application was a ground-breaking one in the football industry, with the judge confirming that it was in the interests of justice for the appointment to be made.

“It potentially marks a watershed moment for Blackpool Football Club and its loyal fanbase.”

Mr Belokon has been in dispute with Owen Oyston for several years and won a High Court case in 2017.

He sued Mr Oyston and his son Karl, the club’s former chief executive, after discovering that they had “asset-stripped” Blackpool by paying themselves huge bonuses and salaries following the club’s season in the Premier League in 2010-11.

The businessman was awarded more than £31m but after several missed deadlines is still owed £25m.

Blackpool are eighth in the First Division but a 12-point deduction would leave them just two points above the relegation zone.

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