According to a report from the usually reliable Athletic, Matt Southall will not be disqualified by the EFL from being involved at Birmingham City.
The Athletic understands Southall believes he has been unfairly blamed for disputes between investors
at Charlton that were beyond his control. It is also understood that his
relationship with Bassini was not close and they are not linked now.
In regards to Charlton, he believes the steps he took to
exclude other directors from the south east London club and illegally change
information at Companies House were motivated by a desire to find a better
buyer to take over. A judge reprimanded him for those actions and awarded costs
against him when the matter went to a business court in 2020. Southall admitted
his wrongdoing and apologised.
After Charlton, little was heard from him for a year. He was
loosely linked to Spanish businessman Erik Alonso’s amateurish attempt to buy
Derby in the spring of 2021 but that probably boiled down to making a few
introductions.
More significant, and potentially problematic for keeping
the fans at Birmingham onside, is his involvement in the attempted hostile takeover of League
Two club Rochdale last summer by a company called Morton House.
Like Wanda Nara and Charlton, that is another saga that
warrants further reading. Long story short: Rochdale fans did not want their
club to be taken over by Morton House, so got organised and fought back.
Southall, for reasons that remain unclear, ended up being
Morton House’s front man in an attempt to sue Rochdale's board and supporters' trust. That attempt was ongoing
until Monday of this week, when Southall resigned from Morton House. It remains
to be seen where that goes next.
Again, it is understood that Southall has an explanation for
what happened. Furthermore, The Athletic has seen a document
that suggests, despite his admitted wrongdoing at Charlton, the EFL will not
disqualify him as a “relevant person” at a club.
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