Another court hearing for Blackpool FC owners after Oystons miss £10million deadline

The Oystons will face another court showdown with Valeri Belokon after failing to pay the Latvian the £10m he was owed on January 31
Owen Oyston (back second left)Owen Oyston (back second left)
Owen Oyston (back second left)
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Blackpool in crisis as payment deadline is missed

As revealed by The Gazette on Thursday, the football club was plunged into further uncertainty after Blackpool FC’s owners failed to meet Wednesday’s 4pm deadline to stump up the second instalment of £10m, having paid the initial £10m in December.

Representatives for Valeri Belokon confirmed yesterday the £10m still hadn’t been paid.

Owen Oyston (back second left)Owen Oyston (back second left)
Owen Oyston (back second left)
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The Gazette understands the Oystons had prepared an application to court on Tuesday to request more time to pay.

The High Court has since confirmed a hearing will be held on Monday afternoon to deal with this application, although the non-payment is also likely to feature highly.

Justice Marcus Smith will now have to weigh up what action to take after the Oystons missed Wednesday’s deadline.

One option available to Justice Smith could be to appoint a receiver, which could go a long way to forcing a change in ownership at the football club.

Owen Oyston (back second left)Owen Oyston (back second left)
Owen Oyston (back second left)
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Alternatively, he could grant the Oystons more time to make this second of four payments.

It comes after the Oystons were ordered to buy out former director Belokon for £31.27m after it was found they had illegitimately stripped the club of cash following promotion to the Premier League in 2010.

Further payments of £7.5m are due by the end of March and May.

It appears Owen Oyston had pinned his hopes on receiving permission to appeal the High Court judgement, but this was denied by the Court of Appeal on Monday.

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At the November Court hearing, Justice Marcus Smith found the Oystons had paid £26.77m out of the club to companies they owned, which fundamentally breached their duties as directors and unfairly prejudiced Mr Belokon.