So after three years of denying any wrongdoing over the contract fiddles that
were central to Boston United stretching their budgets illegally in order to
build the team that pipped the Daggers to the Conference title on goal
difference in 2001/02, the long, but very slow, arm of the law has finally
grabbed hold of Steve Evans' scruffy collar (left) for defrauding the Revenue,
something that had to be happening given the way Boston United were cooking the
books.
At the time the FA Charges first arose this
site speculated about the effect that running a cash economy might have at a
football club. Pilgrims fans refused to believe that anything like this
could be going on at their club as if it was, the Revenue would be after the perpetrators. Well hello!
Steve Evans wriggled on the hook of the charges against him personally for as
long as he could before finally being fined
£8,000 and banned from the game for 20 months in March 2003, a ban he short
circuited by having the start of it backdated to when he was originally
suspended by Boston United in July 2002. Evans
returned to manage Boston once again in March 2004 through the ingenious
move of having a family friend, Jon Sotnick, buy the club.
Now at last it seems like the truth is going to come out, this time not in
some FA kangaroo court but in the British Criminal justice system. Perhaps at
last this vile individual will get what is coming to him. Once again a Boston
United Chairman has had to issue a statement distancing himself from events
under a previous administration, the
same tack Des Wood took in 2002. Sotnick's
statement today reads: In light of the recent news that the Inland Revenue has brought charges against two current employees of Boston United Football Club, chairman Jon Sotnick, having met the working board of the club last night, would like to make the following statement.
Sotnick commented: "Firstly I must emphasise that no charges have been brought against the Football Club as has been confirmed in writing on more than one occasion. More importantly these issues cover a time period well before the current owners purchased the football club.
"From my understanding these matters relate to a time period spanning between April 1997 to July 2001. These charges have been brought against individuals and the club will therefore make no further comment with regards to this matter. The club respects the fact that these employees will be given ample opportunity to answer these charges in a court of Law.
"Having spoken at length with legal representatives of both the club and individuals on information currently to hand, we are confident that those individuals will be fully exonerated. As far as the club is concerned we have much more pressing issues to be concerned with. As I stated earlier no further comment will be made with regards to this matter." The
words "no further comment" are highlighted in bold three times so we
expect no further comment!
|