Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov to return to Edinburgh as club’s financial crisis deepens
Majority shareholder Romanov, pictured right, has been posted missing since the club revealed that they could go out of business before the end of the month after receiving a winding-up order over unpaid tax bills, but Fedotovas insisted that the Russian businessman – who says he will not be investing any more money in Hearts – has not washed his hands of the financially stricken football club and that supporters can expect to see him at Tynecastle within the next few weeks.
Fedotovas said: “He is definitely looking to come to Edinburgh. He has asked for a schedule of games and I understand he is deciding on a date to come to Edinburgh. I would not say he has washed his hands. Without Mr Romanov, we would not have been able to start this season.
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Hide Ad“I understand his strategy. He did not achieve what he wanted to achieve so my understanding is that he said OK, now we need to find a way forward. But he won’t be able to put more money in. So my understanding is that he is able to support us but he will not be able to donate or give us money for us to waste.”
Although thousands of supporters have already answered the call to arms by pledging their money for shares or buying tickets for next weekend’s game against St Mirren, many Hearts supporters are angry that their club has been allowed to fall into such financial disarray.
Sergey Fedotovas maintains,
however, that the club would already be extinct if it hadn’t been for Romanov’s intervention when he took over in 2004.
“Had it not been for
Romanov, that could have happened seven years ago. Would you prefer that?
“If you ask the fans, they would probably not agree with you. The club could be dead in many ways. Selling the
stadium, going to play somewhere else, definitely would have decreased the number of people watching the games.
“Where that would lead
the club – would they be in
the Third Division now?
Probably.
“Would that be a solution for everybody? I don’t think so.”