Labour MP for Chester, Chris Matheson has accused Sir Philip Green of being a shadow director at Everton.
He spoke at a Culture, Media and Sport committee on governance of football. The Everton season-ticket holder made the revelation when he discussed “offshore entities” involved with football clubs while addressing the chairman of the English Football Association.
“I understand that Sir Philip Green had something of a role of shadow director at Everton, including having PwC [big four accounting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers] conduct an audit of the club and summoning the chief executive and the team manager to BHS headquarters to discuss transfer budgets,” Matheson said.
Green is facing serious calls that he be stripped of his knighthood due to the collapse of one of his former firms BHS.
“If someone has paid for some shares through someone else and through an entity in the British Virgin Islands, but isn’t a director, would that be a problem?” Matheson asked. Chief executive Robert Elstone has addressed the issue before saying:
“Those questions were wrong and shouldn’t be asked. To repeatedly be asked about where we lend from and where Philip Green is in all this is just wrong.”
Elstone made the comment during the club’s general meeting late last year as the club steadfastly denies links to Green. Matheson also asked Clarke about offshore companies that were linked with Everton.
“Do you know who or what is Vibrac? Do you know who or what is BCR Sports? Vibrac is an offshore entity… which I believe provided finance to Everton, West Ham, Fulham, Reading and Southampton.
“And I understand it has provided £150 million worth of finance to European clubs, including those clubs I just stated in 2013,” he said.
Matheson made other revelations about the offshore companies but Clarke denied being aware of the companies.
