MP urges fans to attend home games

Thomas Docherty MP has been assisting the Club in its dealings with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs

Thomas Docherty MP has been assisting the Club with its dealings with HMRC and warns that although HMRC have made no new promises, the situation now has until the end of the month to be resolved.  He urged all Dunfermline Athletic supporters to get behind the Club in their numbers at the next two home games in March, against Dumbarton on Saturday 23rd March and Falkirk on Wednesday 27th March. He explained how he had been involved:-

"As the local Member of Parliament I have the ability to make contact on behalf of local companies with HMRC. Without going into the exact details I can seek to try and understand better what HMRC's position is. How we can help HMRC to get the money that  they are obviously legally owed but at the same time help the Club to go forward. We have made some progress on that but we have a very important few days ahead of us."

The Club received a winding up order from HMRC on Friday 15th March and Thomas revealed that the Club has an assurance from HMRC:-

"Nothing will be taken before Saturday 23rd March. That is a very important date for the Club because it is the day of the next home game. I would like to pay tribute too to Raith Rovers who have been exceptionally helpful in terms of Saturday's game by offering to make a portion of that gate money available.

"It is really important that every Pars fan comes along on 23rd March, if they can't then Pars fans should be buying a ticket anyway, go along to the Club shop or make a contribution. That is a crunch game and then there is the midweek game against Falkirk. There are two opportunities and if we can get a good result off the pitch as well as on the pitch, we will be in a much stronger position for the Club to meet its obligations.

"Nobody in Dunfermline wants this club to go down. As a Pars supporter I am only interested in the future of this football club, I am not interested in personalities, who sits on the board or who sits in each chair. Every position that we finish higher up that table is money but it is also about the gate revenue.

"HMRC have been professional; they understand the situation that many football clubs find themselves in but they have an obligation to the taxpayer.  As a Member of Parliament I understand that but what I would say is that HMRC have been sympathetic and they have been very professional. I have had some very productive conversations with HMRC about the situation."

As a Pars season ticket holder our MP acknowledges that faith is a necessary attribute:-

"I wouldn't be consuming time here if I did not think that there was a way of getting to the end of March to HMRC's satisfaction. What is now absolutely crucial is that all Pars fans get behind the Club on the 23rd and 27th.

Dunfermline v Falkirk,  May 2011

"I do not think that HMRC has an agenda against football clubs. HMRC has a statutory duty to ensure that money that is owed to the taxpayer is received. There is a much bigger debate that has to happen, particularly in Scottish football about the way we structure our finances, the way the clubs are set up and the way we operate going forward. HMRC have an important role to play in that but what is really important is that the SFA, SFL and SPL actually come together and look at the long term viability of football clubs.

"I have forgotten exactly how many football clubs in Scotland in the last ten years, have found themselves face to face with HMRC but it is far more than is acceptable."