PFA CRISIS DEEPENS AS ELLIOTT RESIGNS
FORMER CHELSEA STAR’S ROLE AS TRUSTEE IS ‘TERMINATED’
The crisis at the Professional Footballers’ Association deepened yesterday after Paul elliott resigned from the union’s charity over what is understood to be a clear breach of Charity Commission regulations.
elliott, who is also the chairman of the FA’s inclusion advisory board, has had his position as a trustee of the PFA Charity ‘terminated’ this week, according to company accounts.
Last week the Charity Commission responded to concerns raised by the current political crisis at the PFA by
confirming they had opened a regulatory compliance case into the PFA Charity.
And now Elliott appears to have quit in anticipation of a personal financial matter being revealed.
A Sportsmail investigation has uncovered that the former Chelsea star, who has been at the forefront of anti- discrimination campaigns in English football, holds an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) — a legal agreement between an individual and creditors over debt repayment. That is one of the grounds on which charity trustees can be disqualified.
Elliott’s IVA was arranged in September 2016, yet he has somehow been allowed to remain a PFA trustee in a situation that raises further questions about how the union has been run by Gordon Taylor.
Official guidance from the Charity Commission highlights various reasons why a charity trustee may be disqualified. In a document titled ‘The essential trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do’, under a section on disqualification, it states: ‘You must not act as a trustee if you are disqualified under the Charities Act, unless your disqualification has been waived by the commission. Reasons for disqualification include if you . . . have a current composition or arrangement including an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) with your creditors.
‘If any of the current or new disqualification reasons apply to you, you may be able to get your disqualification lifted by the commission.’
Sportsmail had sought to establish if Elliott was granted special dispensation to remain as a trustee of the PFA Charity.
The Charity Commission ref-used to comment on the issue, while Elliott thought the situation had been resolved by the PFA, meaning he could remain a trustee. But Elliott confirmed to Sportsmail that when he realised the issue had in fact not been resolved, he took the appropriate measures to step down as a trustee.
Elliott had been involved with the PFA Charity since it was formed in January 2013. He was listed as one of the founding trustees — though his name was incorrectly spelled Paul Elliot on the forms — but then resigned in March that year.
He was appointed as a trustee again in September 2015, though this time his name was registered by Companies House as Paul Marcellous Ellion. He had remained in the position since then.
A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said last week: ‘The public rightly expect charities to live their values, acting at all times to maximise their positive impact on beneficiaries. We have opened a regulatory compliance case into the PFA Charity to examine concerns about the governance arrangements and to clarify a number of issues relating to the charity’s financial arrangements and accounts. We will be engaging with trustees on these issues and cannot comment further at this time.’ Clearly, the PFA Charity trustees are unclear on many governance issues at the union, with Garth Crooks recently informing Sportsmail that, as chief executive, Taylor did not need to stand for re- election even though trade union regulations suggest he should have done so every five years.
Taylor seems to have remained in power without a challenger for 37 years.
It is the responsibility of every charity to check their trustees once in post, but if the Charity Commission becomes aware of a trustee who has an IVA in place, they will take action.
Despite it being very clear in the Charity Commission guidance that having an IVA is grounds for disqualification as a trustee, both the PFA and Elliott claimed the latter had received legal advice confirming this would not be the case.
In a statement last night, Elliott said: ‘As has been well documented, I was victim to a financial fraud several years ago, which saw me lose a significant amount of money.
‘As part of my efforts to clear my financial obligations — which I take incredibly seriously — I explored entering into a financial arrangement that I knew might impact on my eligibility as a trustee of the PFA.
‘On seeking initial legal advice, I was informed that the arrangement would not impact upon the eligibility criteria. However, following further clarification from the Charity Commission, it was confirmed that it would cause an issue. I therefore chose to resign my position as a trustee.’ l FORMER FA chief executive Ian Watmore has resigned from the EFL’s board on medical advice. The 60- year- old had been trying to broker a peace deal between the EFL and several rebel Championship clubs unhappy with the fiveyear broadcast deal recently signed with Sky Sports. But his resignation because of a heart condition will likely cause a setback to these talks, as well as the recruitment process for a new permanent EFL chairman as Watmore was leading the search.