Campbell action adds to Pompey´s problems

Cash-strapped Portsmouth found themselves under attack from one of their former players on Wednesday when they confirmed they were being sued for over one million pounds by Sol Campbell.

The former England defender, now at Arsenal, has alleged he is owed 1.7 million pounds (2.8 million dollars) in unpaid image rights and bonuses by the club he captained to FA Cup glory in 2008.

A Portsmouth spokesman said on Wednesday: “The matter is being dealt with by our lawyers.”

Confirmation of Campbell’s move came just a day after Premier League basement club Portsmouth’s bid to have a winding up petition from British tax authorities struck out was rejected by a judge.

Portsmouth had argued the Value Added Tax portion of its huge tax bill was too high by as much as 7.5 million pounds (12.2 million dollars)

But Judge Guy Newey found against Portsmouth at London’s High Court and ruled tax collectors Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) could proceed with their legal action.

Meanwhile Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie appeared in court on Wednesday over a fraud allegation.

Storrie, 57, has been accused of “cheating the public revenue” between July 1, 2003 and November 28, 2007 over the signing-on fee for midfielder Amdy Faye from French club Auxerre to Portsmouth.

Storrie is alleged to have arranged for the fee to Faye to be paid via the bank account of an agent, Willie McKay, in order to “conceal its true nature and purpose,” thereby “causing a failure on the part of the club to operate PAYE (pay as you earn) and account for income tax and national insurance contributions in respect of that fee”.

Storrie has said he will defend himself in the “strongest possible terms” against the charge.

Pompey have been facing off-field problems since before the start of the season with the protracted sale of the club from Alexandre Gaydamak to Sulaiman Al-Fahim hampering the south coast side’s ability to bring in new players.

Al-Fahim was only in charge for a matter of weeks before selling on to Saudi businessman Ali Al-Faraj, who has struggled to cope with the club’s debts.

Portsmouth have three times this season failed to pay their players on time and last week saw the Premier League divert seven million pounds in television revenues to other clubs owed transfer fees by the south coast side.

So concerned are the Premier League they have placed Portsmouth under a transfer embargo.

But the club bit back on Monday by threatening League chiefs with arbitration proceedings saying they had agreed payment scheduled with other clubs.

As well as Storrie, former Pompey manager Harry Redknapp, now at Tottenham, and former chairman Milan Mandaric, now at Leicester, all face individual charges regarding unpaid tax resulting from their time at Fratton Park.

Portsmouth, four points adrift at the foot of the table, are at home to top-flight rivals Sunderland in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.