Luton Deducted 10 Points

[Mendoza]

for FIFTEEN breaches of transfer regulations by LTFC 20/20

a mighty fall from the top league, to possible non league in not very long perhaps?? Starting in -10 in League 2

 

[hans kraay fan club]

for FIFTEEN breaches of transfer regulations by LTFC 20/20

a mighty fall from the top league, to possible non league in not very long perhaps?? Starting in -10 in League 2

They HOPE to start on -10.
They've not yet had their cva accepted, have they? If the Leeds precedent is upheld, they'll be starting on -25.

 

[steward 433]

They HOPE to start on -10.
They've not yet had their cva accepted, have they? If the Leeds precedent is upheld, they'll be starting on -25.

Christ on a bike i had forgotten the cva!!!

Looks like Luton in the blue square premier next year then.

 

[Mendoza]

Luton Town have been deducted 10 points and fined £50,000 after being found guilty of 15 charges of misconduct, concerning payments to agents.

The Regulatory Commission found the League Two club guilty of paying agents via a third party, but insisted there was no evidence of bungs.

Former chairman Bill Tomlins has been banned from football for five years and fined £15,000.

Three other ex-directors have also been punished and six agents warned

 

[Uncle Buck]

So they have been deducted 10 points for the ongoing investigation into agent payements. They could also be deducted another 15 points depending on how they exit administration.

 

[Everest]

So they have been deducted 10 points for the ongoing investigation into agent payements. They could also be deducted another 15 points depending on how they exit administration.

Errmmm, I think that's already been said

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

There was a story that Luton had been deducted 15 points for the CVA ruling back in May. Now the Football League have said they will announce what they've decided in July. If Luton get those 15 points deducted and start the season on -25 they are looking at playoff form all season just to avoid relegation.

 

[pornomagboy]

 

[webbyson]

for FIFTEEN breaches of transfer regulations by LTFC 20/20

a mighty fall from the top league, to possible non league in not very long perhaps?? Starting in -10 in League 2

You have to feel for their supporters though?

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

I never really liked Luton as they always beat us at Kenilworth (apart from last season) but I cant help thinking that the League are making an example of them with all this agents business.

They are NOT the only club who have made dodgy payments to agents Im sure but because Newell came clean its opened up a whole can of worms.

 

[surrey jim]

You have to feel for their supporters though?

concur with that, an old boss of mine is a STH at Luton and is very worried about the season as all decent players want to leave

only 2 years since they were 2-0 up against Liverpool

 

[Wardy]

Going to be a long season for them if like expected they end up starting on -25. Will struggle to attract players and lose any decent players that they do have. Unlike Leeds they do not have the money to buy themselves out of it.

 

[Horsham Gull]

Unlike Leeds they do not have the money to buy themselves out of it.

Unlike Leeds they do not have the money to CHEAT themselves out of it.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

FA STATEMENT

Posted on: Wed 04 Jun 2008

The Regulatory Commission chaired by Peter Griffiths QC has conducted a series of hearings into over 40 charges of misconduct involving breaches of The FA and FIFA Regulations brought against Luton Town Football Club, its former Directors and a number of licensed agents.

Judgement was given on Wednesday at 4pm.

Chairman Peter Griffiths QC said (in his remarks prior to announcing the sanctions imposed):

"There may have been a public misconception following the announcement of The Football Association's enquiry into the affairs of Luton Town Football Club in that it might have been thought by some that the Directors and Agents had been involved, using the vernacular, in 'bungs' and/or 'backhanders' or in some other form of corruption. We wish to dispel any such misconception. After exhaustive enquiry, the Regulatory Commission is satisfied that there were no 'bungs' and/or 'backhanders' passed on to Agents to facilitate the transfer of players and no corruption.

"Having said that, there can be no doubt that Luton Town Football Club, between July 2004 and February 2007 was run with a flagrant disregard for the Regulations laid down to protect the game. At the heart of the allegations laid against both Luton Town Football Club and two of its Directors, Mr Bill Tomlins and Mr Derek Peter, was the routing of payments to agents not through The Football Association as ought to have occurred but through an associated company, namely Jayten Stadium Limited. This was brought to the attention of The Football Association by an employee of the club itself.

"The person principally responsible for Luton Town Football Club's serious misconduct was, without doubt, Mr Bill Tomlins, the former Chairman of the Club. During the relevant period he worked virtually full time as the principal Director, and was effectively its Chief Executive Officer. It was he who disregarded rules that he knew were in place to protect the game despite being warned informally that it was wrong.

"Of the former directors of Luton Town Football Club, the next most culpable was Mr Derek Peter, the Financial Director, a qualified accountant. It was he who, jointly with Mr Bill Tomlins, authorised the irregular payments from Jayten Stadium Limited to the Agents and indeed, continued to do so even after his fellow directors, Mr Richard Bagehot and Mr John Mitchell made it clear to both of them that all such payments should cease. That being said, the Regulatory Commission is satisfied that Mr Derek Peter was considerably less culpable than Mr Bill Tomlins.

"The remaining former Directors, Mr Richard Bagehot and Mr John Mitchell, both accepted one charge of failing to immediately notify the Football Association of Luton Town Football Club's misconduct in accordance with their duty under FA Rule E.14. The relevant part of this Rule states:
'A participant shall immediately report to the Association any incident, facts or matter which may constitute misconduct.'
"The Regulatory Commission accepts that at the time when these two directors discovered what had occurred they were unaware of their duty to report. As directors of a Football Club they should have been.

"Finally, so far as the agents are concerned, they each faced one charge of failing to conclude a written representation contract prior to acting for Luton Town Football Club in the transfer in question. An important matter needs to be stressed here. Since the time when these agents committed these breaches the Regulations relating to agents have been significantly reviewed. The Regulatory Commission, obviously, has to approach the question of sanction in the light of the regulations as they then were. This is the reason why the Regulatory Commission intends to deal with them in a relatively lenient manner."

The sanctions imposed are as follows:

Luton Town Football Club has had imposed upon it, in respect of 15 charges of misconduct, an overall sanction of a £50,000 fine along with a deduction of 10 points to be operative in the 2008/09 season.

Mr Bill Tomlins, in respect of 13 charges of misconduct has had imposed upon him an overall sanction of a £15,000 fine along with a suspension from all football and football activities for a period of five years.

Mr Derek Peter, in respect of 7 charges of misconduct has had imposed upon him an overall sanction of a £3,750 fine along with a suspension from all football and football activities for a period of one year.

Mr Richard Bagehot, in respect of a single charge of failing to immediately report the relevant wrongdoing to The Football Association has had imposed upon him the sanction of a Reprimand along with a £750 fine.

Mr John Mitchell, in respect of a single charge of failing to immediately report the relevant wrongdoing to The Football Association has had imposed upon him the sanction of a reprimand along with a £250 fine.

The agents concerned, namely Mr Andrew Mills, Mr Skylet Andrew, Mr Steven Denos, Mr Mike Berry, Mr David Manasseh and Mr Mark Curtis, in respect of a single charge which each faced of failing to have in place a written representation contract with Luton Town Football Club, have each received the sanction of a warning as to their future conduct.

Specific costs orders were made against appropriate parties.

A press statement from Luton Town Football Club and 2020 Ltd will follow shortly.







LTFC2020 LTD PRESS RELEASE

Posted on: Wed 04 Jun 2008

The soon-to-be owners of Luton Town Football Club, LTFC2020, issued a lengthy statement after the desperate news that the FA had placed a fine and a massive points penalty on the club for irregular payments during transfer dealings under the previous stewardship of Jayten Stadium Ltd.

The statement reads:

'Firstly we think that the Football Association is completely correct to show the football world that the type of behaviour demonstrated by the past management of this club is totally unacceptable.

Secondly, we would like to reiterate that these findings relate only to past directors of Luton Town Football Club and not anyone related to, or part of LTFC2020 who have a completely new vision for the club and a policy of openness, transparency and honesty.

Thirdly, this decision makes no difference to our commitment to being the next custodians of the club, and all of us on the LTFC2020 board are completely behind the plans we have previously placed in front of fans. Of course the size of this fine and points deduction will affect the timing of some ideas we were hoping to implement sooner rather than later, but the plans Mick Harford has for squad regeneration are completely unaffected.

Regarding the decision today, we are very disappointed that the FA has not been able to take into account the current plight of the club and the fact that it is soon to be under new ownership. To punish the club and the fans in the future with a points deduction, when the perpetrators get away with just light fines is hugely disappointing.

The scale of the points deduction is unbelievable when it is completely clear that the people found guilty are no longer at the club. Who, exactly, does the FA think they are punishing? Bearing in mind it was employees at the club that presented the FA with the concerns in the first place, you have to question whether the honesty of employees is valued at all by the FA. Unfortunately, rather than the perpetrators being punished in any meaningful way, it is again the fans that take the punishment for the wrongdoing of directors. We call on the FA to amend their rules so that directors of all clubs make personal indemnities for their actions - after all this is quite a normal scenario in the business world outside football, so why not in football itself? Then, blatant mismanagement, irresponsible behaviour, bending and breaking of the rules and questionable dealings will be minimised. If football really wants to clean up its act, it's not beyond the wit of man to find a way.

We think that these findings prove yet again that the concerns raised by ourselves, fans and the supporter groups during 2007 were indeed correct. Probity of directors is vital in any company and it is very disappointing that previous directors saw fit to bend rules to their own advantage. We were told that it was nothing to worry about, 'A storm in a teacup' was the exact phrase. Then there was silence when searching questions were asked by us, the fans and the BBC. Comments like this show just how incompetent the previous ownership was and this has resulted in very dark days for our great club, let alone the damage to our reputation throughout the world of sport.

Whilst some may say that they didn't know the extent of the wrongdoing that has taken place, it was well publicised in the press, it led to the very public dismissal of a successful manager, and if that is the excuse previous directors rely on, it shows how out of touch they were with not only the running of the club, but their fellow directors, and most importantly also the contempt they showed to the great institution they were in charge of.

The FA has to take some blame in this. They still have to explain why they did not act the previous year when the allegations were first made? This hardly shows commitment to 'cleaning up football' so the media should ask them why they believed inaction at that time was the right thing to do. Someone at the FA must be held accountable rather than sweeping it under the carpet at the expense of fans.

One good thing has come out of this - the exoneration of Mike Newell and the staff who told the FA of the very real concerns they had. We applaud them for taking the risk with their own jobs for exposing these actions. Without them, who knows how far it would have gone and what situation our club would now find itself in. It was a sorry day for our club with the media circus surrounding Mike Newell's sacking and now we find out that it appears this happened in a vain attempt to save the skin of directors who knew full well that they were doing wrong.

This judgement in no way affects our commitment to the club. This club has had years of mismanagement and we are here to put an end to it. Openness, honesty and transparency are cornerstones of LTFC2020 and anyone who wishes to be associated with us.

We call on all fans to remain strong. We knew things would get worse before they got better. We have always known the club needs the full support of all fans to get through these very dark days. Next season, we need everyone to do their bit, however small, for the club they love. We need all fans to spread the word that the past decade has been the exception and not the norm. We need all fans to encourage their kids, come to games and support their club. We need all fans to be exactly what they have always been fantastic at; being the best ambassadors that any custodian could wish for.

The FA inquiry is one of the factors that have been hanging over the head of fans and the club. It is one of the final echoes of the past to be resolved. We still have the Football League decision to come, and we will deal with that professionally too. Then we can put the disaster of the previous management to bed, a tenure that has bought he club to its' knees, and focus solely on the future. We at LTFC2020 will do our absolute best, we will stabilise the club and we will give the fans a club to be proud of again. We have a long way to go to get the heart back into Luton Town. But the pulse is beating. And it's getting stronger everyday!

Keep the faith, we are proud of you all for standing firm and strong.

LTFC2020 Ltd

 

[Wozza]

AND they're a division below local rivals, Milton Kunts. Oh the shame!

 

[Lord Bracknell]

for FIFTEEN breaches of transfer regulations by LTFC 20/20

a mighty fall from the top league, to possible non league in not very long perhaps?? Starting in -10 in League 2

As the FA Press Release makes clear ... it is not LTFC2020 wot dun it.

It was the previous regime, Jayten Stadium Ltd.

 

[vulture]

f*** Luton....lets use it and get parkin,currie and bell

 

[defrocked priest]

looks good on them

bit like Leeds really

 

[Uncle Buck]

Errmmm, I think that's already been said

Super.

 

[che]

Midtable coming season.