Swindon Town face possible fine as EFL investigate 'various matters'

The Adver understands the club is being investigated by the EFL over 'various matters'.

While the EFL said it could not comment on individual clubs, it is understood the league is taking particular interest in potential breaches of its rules regarding ownership and transparency.

It comes after the revelation in August that 22 per cent of the club had been handed over by owner Clem Morfuni in September 2022, with a companies house document showing that the two new shareholders -  Hollie Kiely and Bethany Parladorio - held 1,794 (17 per cent) and 524 (5 per cent) shares respectively. 

While it was explained as a 'mistake' once discovered, a day later the Australian businessman admitted the transfer had indeed taken place, as security for an emergency £2.9m loan to stave off administration.

Swindon Town have not yet responded to a request for comment on the issue but Mr Morfuni has admitted publicly that lawyers are involved and a fine is possible.

Read More: Former town owner Lee Power the cause of debenture drama

Section 114 of the EFL rules - Disclosure and Publication of Ownership - states that the league must be notified of any persons of significant interest in the club and that the club must publicly display who these people are on a webpage accessible from the main page of the club's website.

A person with significant interest is someone 'holding and/or in possession of the legal or beneficial interest in, and/or ability to exercise voting rights applicable to' shares that are ten per cent or more of the overall shares,', and this applies to Chris and Hollie Kiely.

Read More: Who are Hollie Kiely and Bethany Parladorio?

Neither Hollie nor Chris Kiely were listed on the club's website as somebody of interest until after the Confirmation Statement was filed publicly on August 15 this year, and their significant interest in the club was not mentioned in any public statement, or the monthly advisory board meetings, which cover the club's finances during that time. 

After the transfer became public knowledge, the 'Who's Who' page of the club which formerly listed Clem Morfuni as sole director was also changed to include the line 'Other significant interests (as defined in the EFL regulations): Christopher Kiely and Hollie Kiely.'

Section 24 of the EFL regulations also specifies that a rule regarding the transfer of shares 'must' be part of the club's articles of association.

EFL rules state that the articles of association of a football club MUST include a paragraph regarding share transfers (Image: EFL)Filings on Companies House confirm this rule was not present in the October 2022 articles of association, or at the time of the Swindon share transfer, and was only added in March this year.

The regulations also state that an Owners' and Director's Test must be carried out on anyone who is a director of a club, has 'control over the club', exercises powers that are associated with the powers of a director, holds the position of chief executive officer (or an individual with an equivalent role) or is a relevant signatory is subject to checks by the EFL. 

But in their statement, the Supporters Trust believe this would not be the case with the minority shareholders.

It said, "The relatively small shareholdings involved prevent either Kiely or Parladorio from controlling or influencing decisions taken by the Club."

In addition, the club itself said the following In the latest advisory board minutes.

"He [Chris Kiely] has no responsibility or accountability for the playing side of the club or the recruitment strategy and final responsibility and accountability for transfers rests with Mike Flynn, Jamie Russell Clem Morfuni and Anthony Hall"

During a Q&A with the Official Supporter's Club and the Sir Tom Broadbent Lounge Podcast on Wednesday, the subject of the EFL came up.

Mr Morfuni was asked: "Where does [the share transfer] leave the club with the football league because they have to be notified if there's a change in share issues?"

He replied: "We've advised them, we've given them all the paperwork, we've spoken to lawyers, we've done all the paperwork, so we're just waiting on them to come back," he said.

He was asked what their response might be, and added: "I'm not too sure, I don't know at the moment, we might get a fine, I'm not too sure, but we might get fined because we haven't advised them."

A spokesperson for Swindon Town added: "The club is aware of the EFL regulations, this is why Chris and Hollie Kiely have been added to the website as persons of significant interest as per EFL regulations.

"We further acknowledge that we are under an EFL inquiry and are currently awaiting contact from the EFL regarding this issue. Until contact is made, we are unable to update you further at this time. Once contact has been made, we will update further on what the outcome will be.

In response to our request for comment, TrustSTFC said:  "The Trust are aware that the Club are in constant dialogue with the EFL regarding the situation and the reporting of share ownership and is awaiting a response from the EFL as to whether any form of action will be taken."