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Bolton Wanderers can add Greater Manchester Police to the cash-strapped club’s growing number of creditors.
Wanderers are in the High Court on March 20 over a £1million-plus tax and VAT bill and also owe a seven-figure fee to Bolton Council for unpaid business rates.
GMP have confirmed they are in talks with the club to settle the debt.
Chief Inspector Colette Rose said: “We will always work closely with all of our football clubs across Greater Manchester to ensure fixtures can take place in a safe and enjoyable manner, and we have a proven track record of this.
“We seek to be flexible and supportive in our approach, and we fully understand the important role football clubs play in our communities. However, we need to ensure public money is spent appropriately and recovered fully when police deployments are made in support of private businesses.
“As we are continuously working with our clubs, we will always try and find ways to work with them to meet the payments they owe us. In reference to Bolton Wanderers, we are continuing negotiations with the club to settle amounts owed to GMP for match day services.”
Among the list of those owed by the club are 400 members of full and part-time staff. The staff, including stewards, were due to be paid on Thursday last week, but received no wages. Owner Ken Anderson has suggested that this may be the case until the club is eventually sold, which comes as front runners the Football Ventures consortium, fronted by Parminder Basran and Sharron Brittan, have stepped away from the negotiation table.
The BWFCST Board confirmed in a statement that it is now exploring “all available options” to help non-playing staff as a result of if the non-payment of February wages.
Should the stewards and other staff members not turn up for duty because of the missing money, the stadium may be flouting the rules of the safety certificate if matches go ahead without enough stewards.
A Safety Advisory Council meeting, including representatives from the club, police, council and ambulance service will meet tomorrow morning at the town hall to discuss potential problems.
The safety certificate for The University of Bolton Stadium, issued by Bolton Council in September of last year, says: “The holder shall provide equipment, permanent staff, stewards and others, and shall monitor, direct, guide, control and assist member of the public admitted to the stadium whilst this certificate is in force.”
It also states that if there are any changes to circumstances affecting the certificate, including stewarding plans, the council should be notified in writing at least 28 days in advance.
Penalties for contravening any of the certificate’s terms includes heavy fines and potential imprisonment. The certificate says: “The penalty is, on summary conviction, a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or on conviction on indictment, a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.”
While the certificate is reviews annually, it can also be “withdrawn, surrendered or cancelled” by the council. A spokesman for Bolton Council said that the council is not able to comment on the financial situation of the club, as it is a private commercial business.
As the club fights for survival, the decision was made to close its own training ground on Monday because of a shortage of food, supplies and power.
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Wanderers are in the High Court on March 20 over a £1million-plus tax and VAT bill and also owe a seven-figure fee to Bolton Council for unpaid business rates.
GMP have confirmed they are in talks with the club to settle the debt.
Chief Inspector Colette Rose said: “We will always work closely with all of our football clubs across Greater Manchester to ensure fixtures can take place in a safe and enjoyable manner, and we have a proven track record of this.
“We seek to be flexible and supportive in our approach, and we fully understand the important role football clubs play in our communities. However, we need to ensure public money is spent appropriately and recovered fully when police deployments are made in support of private businesses.
“As we are continuously working with our clubs, we will always try and find ways to work with them to meet the payments they owe us. In reference to Bolton Wanderers, we are continuing negotiations with the club to settle amounts owed to GMP for match day services.”
Among the list of those owed by the club are 400 members of full and part-time staff. The staff, including stewards, were due to be paid on Thursday last week, but received no wages. Owner Ken Anderson has suggested that this may be the case until the club is eventually sold, which comes as front runners the Football Ventures consortium, fronted by Parminder Basran and Sharron Brittan, have stepped away from the negotiation table.
The BWFCST Board confirmed in a statement that it is now exploring “all available options” to help non-playing staff as a result of if the non-payment of February wages.
Should the stewards and other staff members not turn up for duty because of the missing money, the stadium may be flouting the rules of the safety certificate if matches go ahead without enough stewards.
A Safety Advisory Council meeting, including representatives from the club, police, council and ambulance service will meet tomorrow morning at the town hall to discuss potential problems.
The safety certificate for The University of Bolton Stadium, issued by Bolton Council in September of last year, says: “The holder shall provide equipment, permanent staff, stewards and others, and shall monitor, direct, guide, control and assist member of the public admitted to the stadium whilst this certificate is in force.”
It also states that if there are any changes to circumstances affecting the certificate, including stewarding plans, the council should be notified in writing at least 28 days in advance.
Penalties for contravening any of the certificate’s terms includes heavy fines and potential imprisonment. The certificate says: “The penalty is, on summary conviction, a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or on conviction on indictment, a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.”
While the certificate is reviews annually, it can also be “withdrawn, surrendered or cancelled” by the council. A spokesman for Bolton Council said that the council is not able to comment on the financial situation of the club, as it is a private commercial business.
As the club fights for survival, the decision was made to close its own training ground on Monday because of a shortage of food, supplies and power.
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