Portsmouth have dismissed as ‘absolute rubbish’ claims by the father of owner Alexandre Gaydamark that he, rather than his son, is the owner of the Premiership club. Acradi Gaydamak made the claims to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Athronot to refute suggestions that financial uncertainity was threatening his personal wealth. Gaydamak senior is currently running for Mayor of Jerusalem. Who owns the club is not a trivial matter as Gaydamak senior might have some problems with the admittedly somewhat defective ‘fit and proper persons’ test.
Portsmouth have dismissed as ‘absolute rubbish’ claims by the father of owner Alexandre Gaydamark that he, rather than his son, is the owner of the Premiership club. Acradi Gaydamak made the claims to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Athronot to refute suggestions that financial uncertainity was threatening his personal wealth. Gaydamak senior is currently running for Mayor of Jerusalem. Who owns the club is not a trivial matter as Gaydamak senior might have some problems with the admittedly somewhat defective ‘fit and proper persons’ test. However, even the football authorities might find it difficult to overlook an Interpol arrest warrant over alleged arms sales in Angola. Israel has refused extradition, but the father has been investigated by Israeli authorities for money laundering and by fraud police over allegations of vote buying.
Gaydamak senior also claimed that Portsmouth’s proposed new stadium was to be built in partnership with the Dubai royal family. In fact, there is no evidence that they have any interest in projects on Portsea Island, while Gaydamak’s valuation of Portsmouth at 1,895,700,000 shekels (about £300m) is probably about five times what it could fetch. Nevertheless, it would appear that the club is on a short list of Middle East interests who want to buy a Premiership club, although they are not from Dubai. An immediate sale is unlikely, but it may well happen before the season is over.