Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Legal action’ claim made over stalled Raith Rovers investment as ex-SFA CEO Gordon Smith clarifies involvement

Mike Dellios, left, and Gordon Smith have been involved in recent meetings with Raith Rovers. Images: Mike Dellios, SNS
Mike Dellios, left, and Gordon Smith have been involved in recent meetings with Raith Rovers. Images: Mike Dellios, SNS

The group at the centre of mooted recent investment in Raith Rovers claim they have been “forced to take legal action” after discussions broke down

Talks between the cohort, fronted by Swiss businessman Mike Dellios, and the club ground to a halt last week, sparking a war of words between Dellios and Raith chairman Steven MacDonald.

MacDonald branded Dellios’ conduct “unprofessional”, while the Swiss national, who acts as advisor to Hong Kong-based investment firm Silverbear Capital, hit back by accusing the Rovers chief of “distortion of facts”.

Dellios’ group also contains former Scottish FA chief executive Gordon Smith and scout James Carlin.

Italian coaching legend Giovanni Trapattoni, left, with Mike Dellios. Image: Mike Dellios

Now, a statement sent to Courier Sport by the consortium’s Zurich-based legal consultant, Bruno Slongo, has laid bare their frustrations.

It said: “As the statements of Raith Rovers and Steven MacDonald do not correspond with the truth and their failure to comply with the reasonable request to rectify such comments, the group is forced to take legal action.

“Based on the fact that Steven MacDonald refused to sign a NDA (non-disclosure agreement), it is well in the legal boundaries to disclose some important facts.

“The 59 days difference between the start of the players trial [provided to the club by Dellios’ EVRO Football Pro academy] and the first introduction to Silverbear Capital, proves that Silverbear had absolutely nothing to do with the players.

“The impeccable impression of [former Rovers] CEO Karen McCartney, and the modern approach to football from the coaching staff were the reasons help was rendered to find potential Investors.

“In the time period of eight months, it is the second time Raith Rovers failed to secure investments in seven digits.

“Unbelievable is the fact that they refused a – then unconditional – cash flow injection, to provide the much-needed financial stability.”

The statement was signed: “On behalf of the group (involved in talks with Raith Rovers).”

Gordon Smith

Meanwhile, Gordon Smith moved to clarify his position with respect to the fall-out, saying: “Although I was not involved in the Raith Rovers purchase negotiations, I did attend meetings with both the owner and the chairman of the club.

“During these meetings, the discussions were intense and appeared to be moving positively.

“Mike Dellios acted in a very professional manner and was always amiable and respectful.”

James Carlin

James Carlin, Dellios’ EVRO academy colleague, explained that discussions on investment got underway after a number of players had been provided to Rovers on trial.

He said: “Mr Dellios met chairman Steven MacDonald to request a Zoom meeting with [Raith owner] Mr Sim, who was in Thailand. This never materialised.

“Unfortunately, during the whole process we found the chairman to be obstructive which, ultimately we believe, led to the breakdown of talks.”

Raith Rovers chairman Steven MacDonald refused to comment on the group’s statements.

Conversation