staring at the screen is making my eyes tired. Starting to ... YAWN ... fall asleep...
Headline: Biggest Football Fraud Case Concluded
Article: After years of legal wrangling, Judge Judy finally passed verdict on the infamous CCFC Ltd case, sentencing Joy Seppala, Tim Fisher and Paul Appleton to life in prison with Greg Clarke receiving ten years.
The case came to court after the Football League admitted serious errors in its handling of the player registrations in CCFC (Holdings) Ltd which were complicit in defrauding potential bidders for the club. On 16th August 2013, Greg Clarke gave a media interview where he claimed that the Football League had done nothing wrong, only for the Football League to admit the very same day that 'administrative errors' led to player registrations being held in separate companies to the Golden Share - which was, and still is, against Football League rules. This error had resulted in an administration process which was based on limited and inaccurate information, thereby stacking the result heavily in the favour of SISU.
In describing Paul Appleton's role as Administrator, Judge Judy said: "It is difficult to imagine how you claimed to carry out your role in accordance with the law, when it is very clear that you were in the possession of facts that were not shared with all parties. It is also unforgiveable that you attempted to complete the sale of CCFC Ltd to another SISU owned company when it was very clear that it was not in the long term interests of the company, nor indeed in the interests of the creditors whom lost their main tenant as a result."
The administration process had been re-opened following these revelations and the club was sold to Preston Haskell and a Chinese consortium who promised to pump millions into the club, the stadium and into the surrounding region of Coventry.
On hearing the verdict, Joy Seppala (who had spoken through her interpreter, Tim Fisher, throughout the trial) whispered into Tim's ear at which point he shouted abuse at the judge, threatening to move the prison to Northampton and applying for a judicial review against her role as Judge.
Greg Clarke seemed bewildered by the events in the courtroom and as he was led away by the Police was heard saying: "Do I get to go home now?" leading to suspicion that he really was totally clueless and that his main crime was simply being incompetent.
Meanwhile, Coventry City, who now lie seventh in League 1, three points behind the playoff places with ten games to go, are getting ready to show off their new signings, Rooney and Messi, the first major signings under the Haskell/ Byng era and have high hopes for promotion this year. And with all five home games at the Ricoh already sold out, the fans have voted once more with their feet.
