Pompey insist Alexandre Gaydamak is their owner

Portsmouth were adamant that Alexandre Gaydamak was their owner after the Premier League sought clarification about who was ultimately in charge at Fratton Park.

Newspaper reports in Israel have suggested that Gaydamak's father Arkadi is in fact the owner of Portsmouth.

Premier League rules state that those in charge of clubs must pass a “fit and proper persons” test and submit an annual declaration to that effect.

Ever since Serb-American businessman Milan Madraic, now at Leicester, sold his controlling stake in the south coast club to Alexandre Gaydamak there have been persistent rumours that his wealthy businessman father, who now lives in Israel, was in fact bankrolling Portsmouth.

Arkadi Gaydamak, the owner of Israeli champions Beitar Jerusalem, has been the subject of an arrest warrant by French authorities keen to question him in connection with allegedly illicit arms trading to Angola during the 1990s.

But a Portsmouth spokesman, who insisted the club were happy to assist the Premier League, said: “We are a little surprised that this issue has come up again because Alexandre Gaydamak owns the club 100 percent and nothing has changed.”