The following is a statement from Salisbury City:
Salisbury City have been expelled from the Conference South after the Conference board performed a massive u-turn after earlier giving us assurances that if our football debts were paid we would be able to continue in the league.
Last night, following a four hour meeting, Jackie Goddard, Mark Winter, Jeremy Harwood, David Phillips, Amanda Newbury and Graham Mundy agreed to pay in excess of £91,000 to immediately safeguard the clubs future. As we all suspected Medy Outail Touzar had no intention of paying a single penny and was prepared to see the club crash and burn.
Lengthy negotiations had taken place with the Conference today with the ownership issue now heading for the High Court. The money was transferred to the clubs client account awaiting instruction to be transferred into the Conference account as per agreement with the conference.
Prior to that and before 3pm today, the Conference board had sought assurances about the running of the club and also sought indemnity over the transfer of the funds because technically the debts were being paid by a third party. All the assurances the Conference wanted were met and the club expected to carry on the Conference South, recruit a manager and players to compete this season. Even more than that we offered to indemnify the conference against any legal action taken by Touzar against them, if they went ahead with what at the time where their intentions. That was to allow us to operate through this period until the ownership is resolved one way or the other.
But what the Conference did next staggered belief. They went back on their word, said they were throwing the club out, subject to an appeal, and if we were able to get the ownership sorted out we can still enter the league and form a squad. They were told that the legal action route we were taking would in all likelihood take 28 days minimum, because of standard notice periods. It didn’t it seems make any difference.
The conference then told us at just after 3pm, not to send the monies that were ready to go to meet their conditions, because once received they would be non-refundable. The money was immediately frozen and we have now contacted IPS Law in Manchester to take the strongest possible legal action against the Conference.
The conference change of heart today, potentially could rob the supporters of the club, that they hold dear, but also, their change of heart also prevents the players that are still owed money, the staff that have been working for over two months without being paid, being potentially robbed of any chance they have of getting paid what is rightly due to them.
Naturally emotions will be running very high and there will be a great deal of anger being directed at the Conference and the absent owner Touzar who showed his true colours in the 11th hour. He did nothing!
But rest assured Salisbury City will not go down without a monumental fight.