Phil Gartside, the Bolton Wanderers chairman, and other senior football figures must return to court in early September because of a legal case that has been brought against them.
In a prosecution brought by Tony McGill, a football agent, Gartside and his codefendants face perjury or fraud allegations relating to the 2007 transfer of Gavin McCann from Aston Villa to Bolton for £1m. Any crown court trial would be likely to take place in the spring or summer of 2016.
McGill is bringing a private prosecution against Gartside, the agency SEM, Bolton Wanderers FC and McCann. He accuses Gartside of five counts of perjury and one of fraud by false representation. Ten other parties are also named in the case including the former Bolton manager Sammy Lee, the club’s former director of football Frank McParland, the leading agent Jerome Anderson and others from his company, SEM, as well as McCann.
At a preliminary hearing intended to deal with case management at Newcastle crown court on Wednesday, Judge John Evans set aside 2 September and 3 September for another case management hearing. Pleas will be entered on 9 September, when the defence will request that the trial be relocated to an alternative venue, most probably in the north-west.
When Wednesday’s preliminary hearing was put back from midday to 2pm, Judge Evans granted permission for the defendants to leave Newcastle crown court and be exempt from attending the courtroom as they had long return journeys home to the north-west, London and Southampton.
The case – described as complicated by Judge Evans – surrounds a protracted legal battle over McCann’s move from Villa to Bolton, with McGill claiming he was cut out of the deal. He lost the original case at Manchester civil justice centre last September but the judge’s findings described him as “basically credible”.
Gartside joined the Bolton board and became the chairman in 1999, when Sam Allardyce was appointed manager. He has also had a place on the Wembley board and was put in charge of the Football Association’s selection process when David Bernstein was made chairman.
