Hull City chairman Acun Ilicali has written an open letter to the club’s supporters in an effort to reassure them the club remains in good financial health and is being run in the correct manner. Those were two evident concerns raised by many supporters in the wake of news the club were placed under a transfer embargo and then punished by the EFL for non payment of monies owed for the Louie Barry loan.
The resulting three-window transfer fee restriction that has been imposed by the EFL is currently under appeal by the Tigers, but concerns have remained over the financial health of the club, concerns which have been in place for some time with the most recent accounts showing a loss of £500,000 a week.
The Chairman has been moved to try calm those fears and in a letter to supporters he has reaffirmed the club’s position that they are confident of a successful appeal to the EFL over the transfer fee restriction punishment. He also says there are no concerns over reports of another short-lived transfer embargo owing to a non payment to Manchester City for Fin Burns, a matter that has now been rectified.
Conceding the financial difficulties continue, the owner says owed payments to some suppliers is simply down to a cash flow issue which he is personally covering to ensure all suppliers are paid. Ilicali will continue to cover those payments until such time money owed for a transfer out of Hull City is recouped by the club. You can see the statement in full below.
Open letter from Acun Ilicali
Dear Hull City Supporters,
It is clear there has been a lot of misinformation circulating in the last few days, so I wanted to clarify a few matters.
There are zero issues between us and Aston Villa, in relation to both Louie Barry and Jaden Philogene arrangements, and we are very confident in our appeal case.
The Fin Burns situation is actually quite simple. We intended to use proceeds of a player sale to settle this fee and as soon as the EFL told us this wasn’t possible – due to reasons not related to us, we made a direct payment immediately to end the matter.
With regards to payments to suppliers, unfortunately, the club experienced a cash flow issue when it didn’t receive a £1.5m payment for a player which was intended to clear invoices from suppliers. I will cover this shortfall until we receive the funds we are owed and our team are in communication with all suppliers to rectify any outstanding issues as soon as possible.
When I spoke with our fans last week, I told them the club is losing money and I am supporting when required. The club will always have my full backing whenever it needs it.
I want to reassure our fans that we have zero conflict with any clubs. Perhaps there were some finance administrative errors but I am sure the EFL will be understanding to our appeal and we are confident in our case.
People are entitled to their opinions and to write a different story, that is life, but I will always be behind our club. Our squad has £100m potential, we have a very good coach, the best fans and if we are united together we can achieve our dreams.
UTT
Acun Ilıcalı,
Hull City Chairman