Dundee 'not worth £1'

GIOVANNI DI STEFANO was last week offered the chance to buy Dundee football club for £1 so long as he took on all its liabilities. This latest twist in the extraordinary saga of the controversial Anglo-Italian businessman has been confirmed by both sides in what is rapidly becoming a feud between former friends who have fallen out spectacularly.

In an exclusive interview with Scotland on Sunday, Di Stefano also claimed that the debts of Dundee would be revealed on Monday as nearer 20m.

That debt figure has been confirmed by club sources. It is made up of a 13m overdraft at the Bank of Scotland, seven-figure sums owed to the Marr brothers, a disputed sum owed to former manager Ivano Bonetti and trade creditors.

Speaking from Rome yesterday, Di Stefano was adamant that he would continue as a Dundee director and would fight the Marr brothers, chief executive Peter and chairman Jimmy, over their decision as majority shareholders to put the club into administration from Monday.

It was Scotland on Sunday which last month reported on di Stefano’s shady past as a convicted fraudster.

"I have come to a paper which has been hostile to me to say this so that there can be no question of me inducing the journalist," said Di Stefano.

"I am ready, willing and able to assume all the liabilities for 1 if the Marr brothers get out.

"I am not mad, I am not insane, all I’m asking is that if you don’t want to be in the company any more then get out.

"The first statement that will go out on Monday is that Dundee are 20m in debt and are losing 100 grand a week."

Di Stefano claimed that the Bank of Scotland had offered the Marrs the chance to put the club into administration and save their other businesses, which are also heavily in debt. The result would be a cash injection of 700,000 - approximately half from the Marrs and half from the bank - to tide the club over, said di Stefano.

"Do they think they can run Dundee with 700 grand?" he asked. "Who do they think they are kidding? The Marrs have been led up the garden path.

"On Monday, Peter and Jimmy offered me the company - total control - for 1 in return for my indemnifying them for their personal guarantees to the Bank of Scotland. I said yes, but nothing more happened on that.

"Later, I heard that they were considering putting the company into administration.

"The Bank of Scotland have entered into a covert agreement with the Marr brothers supporting their other businesses and supporting a little bit of Dundee FC. This was all done without my knowledge and without any advance notification to me as a board.

"What the Bank has done is to act as the saviour of the other companies within the Marr group at the cost of Dundee FC.

"I told Peter and Jimmy that I was ready and able to assume all the liabilities, known and unknown, for 1 provided that I have total control, because unless I have total control what on earth is the point?

"Over a period of years the Marr brothers have taken over 1m out of the company. Yes, they put the money in originally so you can’t blame them."

Di Stefano claims going into administration is a way for Dundee to get rid of players they no longer want and "the players are going to get the contracts annulled".

He added: "In all the stupid things I’ve done in my life, I don’t shit on people like that. You can accuse me of anything you want, and maybe 90 per cent of it is true, but I don’t deal with human beings like that and no one can ever say that I did."

In August when he arrived at Dens Park, Di Stefano claimed to have 26m to invest in Dundee FC. Asked why he did not put this money in now to save Dundee, Di Stefano replied: "I am not a mug.

"I am not a philanthropist, and I am not a benefactor. I was brought in at the invitation of the Marr brothers and given a place on the board in return for restructuring the company. If it wasn’t for me the club would have gone under a long time ago. That is absolutely certain.

"Put yourself in my position. Would you now put one penny into Dundee if you didn’t have control?

"I know there was a board meeting on Friday. I received late notification of that meeting. I haven’t been briefed about the outcome formally, but I have voted no to administration."

Di Stefano had prior commitments in Italy over the weekend, but says he will be back in Britain next week. Meanwhile, he denies responsibility for Dundee’s problems.

"I am not the cause of any tax liabilities over the last three years, since I have only been involved since August. I am not responsible for the trade creditors, except for one or two minor ones since September. The first meetings I had when I joined the board were with the Inland Revenue, who were owed approximately 700,000 to 800,000. "However, the bone of contention was that they were estimated amounts that were owed and I did insist, quite rightly, that, in accordance with the taxes and management acts, there be a proper review and audit, and that did occur.

"In the meantime, they issued a petition. I paid 72,000 - that was required to stave off that petition.

"I have also paid the salary of Mr (Fabrizio) Ravanelli. He will continue to receive it from me. (Craig) Burley has denied receiving his salary. That is because he hasn’t been paid it yet as it is not due.

"The 72,000 which I advanced the company to pay the Inland Revenue I took back out ten days later. But perhaps you should ask the Marr brothers about the money that they removed."

A dispute over a hotel bill at the luxury Apex Hotel in Dundee is "nonsense", said Di Stefano. "The Apex had accepted my personal guarantee to pay for Burley and Ravanelli, and it is about 6,000. The invoices were sent (to the club) but I didn’t even know about that. Unless someone tells me, how can I pay them? Were it not for me, the wages would not have been paid last month, but I haven’t taken that money out yet."

According to Di Stefano, the club’s recent journey to Italy for a UEFA Cup tie nearly ended in tears over unpaid bills for tickets, and he was also prepared to act as guarantor for the club’s massive tax liabilities if administration didn’t take place - something the Marrs seemed determined to force through, in his view.

"I paid for the ticket money in Perugia to save the club embarrassment, but it is only right that I get my money back. Yesterday, I gave the Inland Revenue my personal guarantee for 730,000, which they accepted in return for my undertaking that I would not put the company into administration. I have the documents to prove that."

At this point in the interview, Giovanni di Stefano made serious allegations against the Bank of Scotland about their business relationships with five SPL clubs. He claimed that he had warned the clubs at a meeting at Hampden that "all of us, including myself, stood to answer potentially for fraudulent trading or wrongful trading".

The allegations made by Di Stefano about the bank could not be substantiated last night, but the bank’s spokesman said: "These remarks are highly defamatory and are 100 per cent a work of fiction."

On another note, both Dundee FC and Giovanni di Stefano have now stated they will withdraw statements from their websites concerning Scotland on Sunday and this reporter.

Of all the many things that have been written about Giovanni di Stefano - and this newspaper has provided some of the most uncomplimentary stories - no-one can deny that he has the gift of the gab.

As Dundee FC heads into financial meltdown and the behind-the-scenes bickering at Dens Park explodes into the open, it is clear that the friendship between the controversial Anglo-Italian lawyer and his former friends, club owners Peter and Jimmy Marr, is in a terminal condition.

Trust Di Stefano to coin a phrase to acutely sum up the sundered relationship. "Sometimes in a marriage, you have to sleep on the couch. It doesn’t do you any harm."