Sources: Everton owner Farhad Moshiri backs out of public interview amid MSP investment speculation
Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has backed out of a on-stage interview appearance at a Financial Times event amid ongoing speculation over investment in the club, Goodison News has been told.
The move comes amid continued unrest around Goodison Park with Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright deeply unpopular with fans who have staged repeated protests at the running of the club.
Additionally, there are reportedly “advanced talks” between the owner and Jahm Najafi of MSP Sports Capital over substantial investment in the club [i News, 22 February], amid continued speculation that the owner may be looking to sell the club entirely.
The Toffees’ controlling shareholder had been due to take part in an on-stage interview with Financial Times journalist Arash Massoudi at the Business of Football Summit on 2 March, also set to feature Newcastle director Amanda Staveley and football finance expert Swiss Ramble.
However, a source close to the summit has told Goodison News that Moshiri will no longer be attending but the reasons why are unclear beyond an “unforeseen conflict”.
Absent
The 67-year-old made his first appearance at an Everton match for over a year at the 2-0 defeat at West Ham on 21 January, after which he sacked manager Frank Lampard.
Meanwhile Kenwright and other board members have attended away games, including the Merseyside derby at Anfield, but have not been at Goodison Park fixtures since their own security advisors told them to stay away from the loss to Southampton (14 January) amid apparent threats to their security.
That move in itself has not been popular due to the way fans are seen to have been painted in a bad light at a time when the running of the club is under particular scrutiny, with the team battling relegation and the January transfer window proving highly unsuccessful.
Additionally, club sources’ claims that CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale was put in a headlock [Liverpool Echo, 14 January] on the way out of stadium have been heavily criticised over a lack of proof.
Despite the serious nature of the allegations Merseyside police subsequently revealed they had not received any reports from the club of the threats [Daily Mail, 16 January].
The Financial Times was the outlet which originally reported on 15 February a £3.1billion plan for a Najafi-led consortium to buy Tottenham Hotspur, which took Everton by surprise [Liverpool Echo, 16 February], and the matter will now evidently not be commented on at the FT summit by Moshiri after his withdrawal.