PFA FAILED TO HELP COTTERILL ‘VICTIMS’
The PFA have been accused of ignoring requests for help from lower league players allegedly cheated out of their life savings by former Wales international David Cotterill.
Sportsmail revealed on Saturday that the euro 2016 semi- finalist owes a total of almost £400,000 to at least seven current or former players after persuading them to invest in a number of property schemes and short-term loans which he has failed to honour.
Following our revelations, Sportsmail has been contacted by several players claiming their attempts to gain financial and legal assistance from the PFA in securing repayment have fallen on deaf ears.
PFA sources said last night that the matter remains under review and that they are still seeking paperwork from at least one of the players. The union’s scope for involvement may have been constrained by the fact Cotterill’s loans were private financial agreements rather than anything pertaining to playing contracts, while the potential for criminal proceedings is also likely to have been a factor. A number of players are understood to have reported Cotterill to the police.
The players’ union has more than 4,000 members and is cashrich, with reserves of £50million. The general fund accounts for 2017-18 show that chief executive Gordon Taylor’s total remuneration was more than £2m. Cotterill borrowed from his fellow players between 2014 and 2018, a period in which he was playing regularly for Birmingham City in the Championship as well as for Wales.
One player who is owed tens of thousands of pounds is understood to have contacted the PFA in the summer of 2018 after failing to receive a repayment he was due on a loan agreement signed a few months earlier, but did not receive any help. The player has told
Sportsmail the PFA representative he spoke to implied it was nothing to do with them and that they did not want to get involved in a dispute between members.
Another player who is owed more than £ 30,000 has told
Sportsmail he contacted the PFA last month asking for financial help chasing a County Court judgement made against Cotterill. he did receive a reply from a PFA executive, who told him they would assess the situation and get back to him, but has heard nothing since.
Cotterill has admitted he has outstanding debts to several players. he has acknowledged he has made mistakes but says he is trying to make amends.
his explanation for failing to repay many of the loans is that they were taken out when he was suffering from depression and alcohol dependency. Cotterill has begun the process of attempting to pay back some of the money.