Pars braced for outcome of Masterton court battle

ThE legal action which could decide the future of Dunfermline has been brought forward and will be played out in an Edinburgh courtroom today. Gavin Masterton, the former owner of the East End Park club, is seeking an interim interdict to stop administrators BDo tearing up a lease with Fife Council over the rental of the club’s Pitreavie training ground. If he succeeds, fans’ rescue group Pars United claim they will not be able to afford to run Dunfermline as a sustainable business and insist they will reluctantly have to pull out of their takeover. sources close to BDo have told Sportsmail the administrators would have no choice but to liquidate the 128-year-old club as early as next week. Last night, however, Masterton insisted he was ‘100-per-cent certain’ his court battle won’t end with Dunfermline being liquidated. he said: ‘My signatory on the lease of Pitreavie was made aware to the administrators in March. ‘I’m surprised that this issue has not been resolved by now. I have written off millions of pounds of my own money in a bid to save Dunfermline. ‘I feel I have no other option but to apply for the interdict in order to protect what’s left of my personal pension fund. ‘This is not a blocking device to the takeover of the club and I am 100-per-cent certain that Dunfermline will not be liquidated.’ Pars United, who agreed a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) to take over the club in July — subject to conditions, including the training ground lease being torn up — warned last month that Dunfermline remained in a ‘very distressed state’ and needed a further £150,000 to survive the season. should the club fail to win its battle in court today, however, the end could arrive much sooner. A spokesman for BDo declined to comment, but Sportsmail understands the club’s administrators have informed Masterton of the dire consequences to the club of his legal bid.