Portsmouth players to be paid at last

Portsmouth’s players were due to be paid their December wages on Thursday after squad salaries at the English Premier League crisis club had been delayed for the third time this season.

“As far as I am aware, everything is going through to their accounts today,” Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie told Sky Sports on Thursday.

“Payment should be there, I am pleased to say. Obviously it is not the best scenario in the world to have this situation happening but obviously finance is a major problem in the world market at the moment.”

He added: “I am told funds were received this morning so therefore it’s a question of the process, and however long that takes to go through, but I’m told it should all happen today.”

The south coast side’s financial problems have contributed to a situation that has left them four points adrift at the foot of the Premier League and on course for relegation just a couple of seasons after they won the 2008 FA Cup.

Before the season started, Portsmouth were hampered by the protracted takeover of the club by the UAE-based Sulaiman Al-Fahim from former owner Alexandre Gaydamak.

But fans who were led to believe that Al-Fahim would invest heavily in the club were stunned when, in a matter of weeks, he relinquished control to Saudi businessman Ali Al Faraj.

However, he has struggled to raise the funds to cope with Portsmouth’s mounting debts, with Gaydamak alone saying he is still owed nearly 30 million pounds by the club.

Portsmouth, who in November appointed Israeli Avram Grant as their manager in succession to the sacked Paul Hart, have also been threatened with legal action by HM Revenue and Customs over unpaid tax bills.

Meanwhile, with the January transfer window now open, Pompey cannot currently sign any new players as they remain the subject of a Premier League transfer embargo regarding unpaid fees on previous deals.

But Storrie insisted Thursday players would not leave Fratton Park on the cheap just to raise some ready cash.

“I’ve had one or two calls and I think one or two people think there is some sort of fire sale going on. That is not the case,” he said.

“If we have to sell players we’ll sell them for their market price and not what people think is a knockdown price.”

The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) told Portsmouth warned the integrity of Premier League fixtures was at stake unless the club’s financial position improved.

“When two teams take the field, it’s 11 versus 11 and you would expect all 22 players to have been paid,” PFA senior executive Nick Cusack said Thursday.

“If one set of 11 has not then that can call into question the commitment of that team and therefore the integrity of the game itself.

“That in turn puts into question the very integrity of the league, and this is something we plan to raise with the Premier League and with Portsmouth’s officials when I go down to the club to speak to the players.

“Portsmouth cannot carry on like this. I am sure the people we are talking to are honourable and want to sort it out, but there is a lack of information about how the club is being run, how the players are being paid and whether they will be paid in the future.”