SFA send Hearts and Hibs a message over dual ownership as CEO directly addresses Tony Bloom at Tynecastle.
The SFA’s chief executive has addressed the issue of dual ownership and Tony Bloom at Hearts. Ian Maxwell confirms that the Scottish FA will not oppose multiple ownership models, notwithstanding Black Knight’s involvement at Hibs and Tony Bloom’s potential Hearts stake. Bournemouth owner Bill Foley has invested in Hibs through his Black Knights Football Club stable, which owns clubs all over the world. He remarked last week, “I was only allowed to buy 30% of Hibs, but if larger ownership percentages are allowed, you’ll see many more Americans investing in Scottish football” when 49ers Enterprises and US health insurance mogul Andrew Cavenagh take over Rangers.
Meanwhile, Tony Bloom, the owner of Brighton and major investor in Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, has made significant investment suggestions to Hearts. According to CEO Maxwell, such transactions require SFA approval and are not expected to impede progress.
SFA stance on dual ownership
He stated of the deals so far: “They have not been very complicated. To be honest, we’ve been much more candid. Ownership of multiple clubs is now possible. It’s part of football. When looking around Europe, the number of clubs involved in a multi-club system is increasing by the day. We must be a part of that. Why would you limit the investment? “It was genuinely interesting once you started thinking about the process. We had dual-interest restrictions, which meant that if you were already interested in a club, you couldn’t join a Scottish club unless we agreed. But someone like Tony Bloom, for example, who is getting interested with Hearts, has a track record at Brighton, understands football, and has Union Saint-Gilloise, knows other clubs.
“We really make it more difficult for him to break into Scottish football than we do for someone who recently sold a firm for £10 million and has no knowledge of the Scottish game. When you get into it, you realise: “That probably doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
Avoiding Crystal Palace style scenarios
There is no Scottish team entirely involved in a multi-club ownership model like the City Group, which has Manchester City as its crown jewel and is related to clubs such as New York City and Melbourne City; nonetheless, new investment raises concerns about this prospect. Crystal Palace’s position has drawn attention to dual and multi-club ownership, as the club seeks to comply with UEFA criteria in order to compete in the Europa League following their FA Cup victory. They are owned by John Textor, who also owns Ligue 1 club Lyon, and it appears that no prospective European involvement was cleared before the March deadline.
Maxwell stated: “Our board is looking at it from two angles. Does it expand and develop the game? Will it increase financial investment in Scottish football? Does it raise questions about our integrity? The integrity problem is irrelevant since it would only apply if two Scottish teams were playing under our control, which they are not. “The jurisdictional issue becomes a UEFA issue, and we have been upfront about all of the dual interests and multi-club investment structures that we have implemented. If, like in the case of Crystal Palace, there is uncertainty about which team will participate in Europe, the Scottish club cannot be the unintended consequence or be forced to withdraw from European competition.
He went on to say, “The good news is that the vast majority of clubs (and their shareholders) that have come into Scotland are familiar to multi-club ownership structures. When you speak with the people engaged in the Hearts agreement, they are quite aware of what UEFA requires, what they want, and how that structure should look to ensure we don’t find ourselves into those problems. So, I suppose it’s arrived. We cannot ignore it. Why would you want to walk away from it? “Why would you want to stop investment in the game if it will benefit our clubs? The trick is for the club to subsequently spend the money wisely. We don’t understand involved in that bit. But, from a broad perspective, there’s definitely a willingness to look at anything that generates more investment into Scotland.”
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