Valeri Belokon has refused offer to take over Blackpool, says Owen Oyston

Oyston was issued with a penal notice by a judge on Wednesday to pay the remaining £25m he owes Belokon and stop disobeying court orders.

Oyston was ordered to pay £31.27m to the former club director after Justice Marcus Smith ruled the Oyston family had "illegitimately stripped" the club of millions of pounds.

But Oyston has claimed it is Belokon's fault for the delay.

A spokesman for Oyston Group of companies said: “It is a serious concern that the legal representatives of Valeri Belokon have refused to provide a settlement agreement so that Owen Oyston can discharge the judgment debt. It would appear that Valeri, who is ignoring all overtures on this front would rather proceed with further court actions rather than facilitate the payment of the judgment debt.

"This is especially strange in view of Valeri’s rhetoric, his promises to the fans and his often repeated love of Blackpool Football Club as well as its fans. He has yet again refused to consider taking over the club which Owen has offered to him again this week.

"There are a sequence of texts over the last few days which detail this proposal by Owen.

"Many months ago, Owen offered Valeri Blackpool Football Club, the stadium with all its assets including the training ground et cetera, plus £10 million as a settlement for his claim.

"This was a generous offer and vastly exceeded the amount owed to Valeri.

A few months ago, Valeri instigated a demand for all Owen’s personal monies totalling over a million. Valeri knew that these monies were crucial to funding the club and yet he pursued it rigorously and took over the monies, despite undertakings that Owen would use the monies only for the benefit of the club.

"Why would Valeri do this is the question after all his protestations and claims that he loves the club and its fans. We know that Valeri, advocated by his lawyers, that he wanted the Club and the Group to go into receivership.

"Owen wishes to discharge the debt but must have the cooperation of Valeri to do so. It has been a long hard battle to produce the monies to discharge the debt but now the payment is imminent. Once paid the Blackpool Football Club staff and associate staff, the players, the fans and all associated with the club can focus on the way forward and on the football team.