PFA hit with claims that they 'ruined' the lives of many players

English media outlet 'SportsMail' has revealed some sensational claims about the financial wrecklessness behind the liquidation of the PFA in 2009. 

Chief executive of the PFA, Gordon Taylor, has come under increasing scrutiny in recent months, and the emergence of such further allegations will only make the calls for his head grow louder and louder. 

The newspaper suggest that the former financial arm of the English Professional Footballers' Association, was more than £1million in the red when it succumbed to liquidation, having also squandered millions in personal savings of its members. 

'Sports Mail' claims to have been contacted by a host of former players, who blame the PFA for their current woes, after receiving poor financial advice during their time in the game.

An apparent result of such poor advice led to one footballer losing close to  £80,000, leaving him on the verge of bankruptcy.

Furthermore, another player, who lost a lot of money investing in one of the PFA-recommended investment schemes, was former PFA chairman Ritchie Humphreys. He now works as a delegate liason executive for the union, and refused to comment on the claims. 

Ben Purkiss, the current chairman of the PFA, has been hit with attempts to be ousted from office, after calling for change at the top of the organisation. 

However Purkisss has a 300 strong group of former and current players supporting his campaign. Of course, a review has been called for in the weeks since.

The PFA has rightly received praise for the historic support they have given to members; it has around £50m  reserve for such necessities, and has also spent more than  £9m on memorabilia in total throughout its history. 

However it seems that the PFA have not been as generous to all the players that call on the organisation for help. 

For example, the widow of former Aston Villa player Jlloyd Samuel was only given marginal help, after the player tragically died in a car crash in May. 

Emma Samuel was left with two children, a house with rent overdue, and her husbands vast debts. The PFA refused her plea for £70,000 to help stabilise her family's finances, instead granting her £11,000 as a 'maximum offer'. 

'Sportsmail' received a comment from Emma Samuel on the situation, saying: "We realised that the PFA could not supply long-term support, but this six months was critical. They wrote back saying they could offer only £11,000, suggesting that this was the maximum they could do given their resources.

She continued: "We are left to wonder just how many professional football players passed away this year at such a young age and in such tragic circumstances? Not many, if any, and yet the PFA’s ample resources could not stretch to supplying adequate support for one long-serving, and much-loved, member." 

 

November 21, 2018

This story appears to be just a drop in the ocean of many financial misgivings committed by the PFA towards its members under the tenure of Gordon Taylor. 

It is understood that the Premier League do not feel it appropriate to step into such matters, and are also reluctant to cut off cash flow to the union. 

The Premier League do specify how the majority of the money they provide is spent, but a small portion of that is down to the Union's discretion (including Taylor's salary). For the time being, the league are not thinking of altering this figure, but may reconsider if disputes continue.