Dunfermline and Hearts’ administrators must take into account the millions of pounds already raised by fans when considering offers to buy the clubs.
That was the stark message yesterday from fans group Supporters Direct Scotland, who have been working with both Pars United and the Foundation of Hearts in supporting their plans for community and fan ownership.
In Dunfermline’s case, administrator Bryan Jackson is weighing up two separate bids, but Paul Goodwin, head of Supporters Direct Scotland, has warned Jackson against overlooking the input of supporters.
“Hearts and Dunfermline fans have already made massive financial contributions to saving their clubs yet at the moment, when it comes to any final deal to bring these clubs out of administration, they will be ignored,” he said.
“At Hearts the fans contributed over £1 million through a share issue in December and are now in the process of digging deep once again to bring in over £800,000 from season ticket sales.”
He continued: “At Dunfermline it was touch and go whether liquidation could be avoided, yet the fans rallied to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds to ensure the club continued trading, agreed to underwrite the administrators fees and gave them £100,000 in terms of working cash to get through to the end of last season.
“Yet, as it stands, another bidder could come into either or both clubs without having contributed a penny to saving them and in turn have an immediate competitive advantage given the amount of money that both sets of fans have already spent.
“We believe it is essential that in any final deal for either of these clubs BDO account for these vital financial and emotional contributions by both sets of fans when assessing prospective bids.
“It would be easy to see past the efforts of Pars United and the Foundation of Hearts and just accept the highest bid while ignoring the huge sums already put into the club to keep them alive.
“Fans bring with them more than just instant money, they bring credibility and proof that if you want a sustainable football club you need to have the fans with you.”