A prominent Dundee fans group is seeking help from the city’s MSPs to resolve a long-running “impasse” with the club over supporter representation.
Dee4Life – formerly known as the Dundee FC Supporters’ Society – say they will meet with Joe FitzPatrick MSP and Shona Robison MSP “in the coming weeks” as they aim to end a years’ long dispute over the right to places on the club’s board of directors.
The group describes its right to two seats on the board as “entrenched” in the club’s articles of association, having been signed off by owners Tim Keyes and John Nelms upon their purchase of a majority shareholding in 2013.
Dee4Life have not been granted board representation since the June 2020 resignation from the group of Bob Hynd, who remains a club director.
Now, after citing failed attempts at “diplomacy” behind closed doors – and with fresh movement reported on the club’s new stadium plan – the group has gone public with concerns, directly accusing the club of blocking their right to representation and raising the prospect of legal action to restore it
In an update to fans, described in response by Dundee FC as containing “many inaccuracies”, Dee4Life chairman Keith Winter said: “When Dee4Life directors pledged to do everything in their power to seek answers about the proposed new stadium development, it was made clear that diplomacy would have to be exhausted before a different course of action would be pursued.
“Over the past year, we have been guided by legal advice and have asked for nothing beyond what FPS [Football Partners Scotland, the company through which Keyes and Nelms own their Dundee shareholding] agreed to when they bought the club 10 years ago.
“We have sought help from intermediaries and offered to go to arbitration to establish a framework for fan representation. We produced a proposal that highlighted the ways we can help the club in return for them fulfilling their legal obligations.
‘Outstanding stadium issues’
“We demonstrated our willingness to work alongside the club and provided financial assistance for projects. Most recently, we requested a Q&A session so that outstanding stadium issues could be addressed.
“We have worked hard to find an amicable solution but, with the club still failing to answer the perfectly reasonable questions put to them, we feel now is the time to appraise you of all that has happened to date.
“In December 2022, we nominated [Dee4Life] director Kenny Valentine to sit as our primary representative on the club board. The response, signed ‘Dundee Football Club Limited’, made clear this was regarded as a hostile act.
1/2 Kenny Valentine visited the @DundeeFCCT this morning to present a donation of 168 hot water bottles to support the trusts winter support program.
Kenny pictured with Greg Fenton, CEO of the community trust pic.twitter.com/1mI2X75lxp
— Dee4Life 🇨🇷 (@Dee_4_Life) January 13, 2023
“Much of the anger appeared to be linked to the fact that a Dee4Life director had, while acting in a personal capacity, responded to the Camperdown [stadium project] statutory consultation by noting that they opposed the plan as it was presented at that time.
“We immediately sought legal counsel and were advised to resolve the situation privately. Our lawyer wrote to the club noting that the concerns expressed were clearly those of an individual, reminding them that we had acted within our entrenched rights, and offering to meet with company secretary Lindsay Darroch to discuss next steps.
“While it would have made our lives easier to outline every detail with you, we were advised that any public fallout would jeopardise any chance of progress. We ultimately took the view that to go public would be to fail our members by making it less likely that they received the answers they sought.”
In the early months of 2023, Dee4Life hoped progress was imminent, describing the nature of discussions with the club on the board issue as being a case of “when, not if”.
But talks soon stalled again, with the group saying “significant disagreement,” led to “a hardening of the club’s position,” culminating in them “being told that attempts to have a Dee4Life rep appointed would continue to be resisted.”
They added: “Over the past year, we have made clear that we sought a reset in relations with the club but the supposed actions of ‘individuals associated with Dee4Life’ were repeatedly cited as reasons for the club’s reluctance to engage.
“For obvious reasons it isn’t in our interests for the full legal advice we received to be in the public domain but, to summarise, the only way to enforce Dee4Life’s entrenched rights would be by raising legal action against the club.
“We don’t have inexhaustible funds but the majority of our reserves are ring-fenced for legal action if it is ever required to fight a very clear threat to Dundee’s existence.
“Our primary focus over the past year has been to fulfil the pledges we made at the last AGM and for fans to receive the information they deserve.
“The board rep nomination was a means to an end for us – that end being to get answers to the stadium questions and to ensure this kind of situation does not arise again. With club directors now explicitly saying they will block this move and with John Nelms now apparently unwilling to take part in a Q&A, it is now time to consider next steps.
“We will be meeting with Dundee’s two constituency MSPs over the next few weeks to ask for their assistance in resolving this situation. We will update you on these talks and anticipate laying out the options available to us and recommending a course of action ahead at our AGM in November, at which point members will be able to vote on the direction we take.
“We note today’s media reports about the imminent purchase of Dens Park by FPS and will consider the implications for the club as we obtain more information on the matter.”
Dundee FC hit back
Approached by Courier Sport, Dundee FC hit back at Dee4Life’s statement, commenting: “Dundee Football Club wish to highlight there are many inaccuracies and false statements in the Dee4Life statement released today.
“The club is also in constant dialogue with the largest supporters’ group, Dundee Supporters’ Association (DSA) and the club’s supporter liaison officer (SLO).
“The club’s main focus is on our match tomorrow against Hibernian.”
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