Hearts' future in doubt over tax bill

Published on Thursday 30 July 2009 15:27

HEART of Midlothian's solvency was called into question again today after the club confirmed HM Revenue and Customs had begun a process that could force them into administration.

A petition for a 'wind-up' action was lodged against the Edinburgh outfit at the Court of Session this week on behalf of HMRC, who are chasing unpaid debts.

Hearts were forced to issue a statement on their own website in which they expressed shock at the development and insisted the outstanding bills would be paid on time.

Club director Sergejus Fedotovas said: "Hearts has been informed of the petition that has been raised and that came as a surprise as the club has a payment schedule in place with HMRC and this will be met in full and to the agreed timescales.

"The funds are available and sufficient to meet the obligations. We have made excellent progress recently as a club in cutting our costs and reducing our debt while delivering a winning team on the field.

"This will continue to be the case and, with continued effective investment, we are confident in our future direction."

Should Hearts fail to pay up, the action could see them forced to sell assets or even cease trading altogether.

Were they to go into administration, the club would face a 10-point deduction from the Scottish Premier League.

Confirmation of legal action comes months after the Jambos reported they had reduced their overall debt by 16% to 30.48million, largely thanks to the sale of big-name players.

Last season, Hearts twice failed to pay their squad on time, citing "technical" glitches for the delays.

Former Hearts chairman Lord Foulkes, an MSP, told the Edinburgh Evening News the latest development would "send shivers down the spine" of supporters and would further divide opinion over controversial owner Vladimir Romanov.

He said: "I think Mr Romanov and his colleagues have taken things to the wire before as far as paying bills are concerned.

"So far, the club has survived, but it's certainly not good for the nerves. Everybody just crosses their fingers and hopes it goes away.

"Most fans have always had mixed feelings about Romanov, but he has given (manager) Csaba Laszlo a relatively free hand to choose players and pick the team.

"We came third in the league and we're in the Europa League. If Chris Robinson was still there, we'd probably be in the First Division and playing in front of 5,000 people at Murrayfield."