Hong Kong businessman Balram Chainrai, the new owner of English Premier League Portsmouth, has no interest in running the club and will offload the troubled club as soon as he can find a buyer.
Chainrai became the fourth person to control the club this season on Thursday after becoming frustrated at not receiving payments on a £17 million (US$27 million) loan he made to his predecessor Ali al-Faraj via the Portpin company.
“I have zero interest in buying Portsmouth and it’s completely untrue that I am the new owner of the club,” he told yesterday’s South China Morning Post. “As far as I am concerned, I have just confiscated the shares of the previous owners. It’s nothing to do with controlling the club. I don’t know anything about running a football club. I just love the game and that’s why I’ve taken this action. We have exercised our right to take control of the shares and to remove the previous owners.”
Portsmouth are banned from buying players because of money owed to other clubs, while the players and staff have regularly had their salary payments delayed this season.
Five points adrift at the foot of the Premier League, they are also fighting a winding-up order from the British Government’s Revenue and Customs department.
Chainrai said he had seized al-Faraj’s 90 percent interest to protect Portsmouth and his priority was to find a new investor with “the club’s best interests at heart.”
“Believe me, someone will come in and buy this club. This is Premier League football we are talking about,” he told the newspaper. “We are eagerly looking for an investor to come in and take over. I don’t have a time frame to find a prospective buyer. I would like to have one here today if I could, but we’ll just have to wait.”
Chanrai was the second Hong Kong businessman to take a controlling interest in a Premier League club after Carson Yeung’s Grandtop International Holdings Ltd bought Birmingham City last year.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care