UH/1348

Omagh Town manager denies any accusations of wrong-doing
By JOHN McCUSKER

Blames Council for trying to block the event
THE Manager of Omagh Town FC has defended his club's handling of the controversy surrounding three high-profile soccer matches in aid of the Omagh Fund, by saying he feels angry and bitter at accusations aimed at those involved in the venture.
Roy McCreadie broke his silence this week to talk about the series of contentious fund-raising games against Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool.
In a face-to-face interview with local papers, Mr McCreadie spoke of his resentment towards those who had labelled organisers of the games 'cheats and conning people.'
But he refused to comment on a number of questions put to him regarding sponsorship deals with various companies. And he also turned down the chance to state his club's position regarding the controversy surrounding the amount of money which the games had generated.
The manager's comments followed recent media reports focusing on the dispute surrounding funds from matches. Out of a total of £185,000 raised from the fixtures, it is expected only around £30,000 will eventually go towards the fund set up to help victims of the Omagh bombing in August 1998.
The Town boss also refused to discuss specific allegations levelled against the club and its handling of the proceeds from the games, which were highlighted recently in the media.
Instead Mr McCreadie elected to criticise those he accused of waging a vendetta and bringing 'unwarranted attention' on the club.
Following a recent BBC Spotlight investigation, Omagh Town officials promised to release a 'full and detailed' response to a range of allegations concerning monies raised. But the Town boss said he was not yet prepared to comment further on the allegations until a full financial report into the matter was released.
"The Spotlight programme, for some reason, was very devious," he said, "Legally we were told not to comment because everything that was being said was untrue."
Mr McCreadie firmly ruled out any suggestion of launching an internal probe within the club, but promised that the final accounts would 'differ' from the draft document presented to local councillors on before Easter. He added that the club would be in a better position to answer questions at that point also.
During the interview he attempted to shift a portion of the blame onto Omagh District Council, which he accused of standing in the way of bringing the Premiership sides to St Julian's Road.
He said he felt the council should have been very proud that three of the biggest clubs in the world had expressed an interest in coming to its town, for its people. Instead, he said, it did nothing to help the local club stage these massive events.
Following a press conference held last May to announce the matches, Mr McCreadie said Omagh Town management met with council officials who insisted a separate bank account be opened to deal with the proceeds. But the Town boss felt the partnership had got off on a wrong footing.
"From day one, they were looking to aggravate the whole situation rather than help us," he said.
According to Mr McCreadie, among suggestions put forward by the council was the swopping of the venue to Lansdowne Road with 20,000 fans bussed from Omagh to Dublin.
Another possibility which emerged at the time was staging the venue at the GAA's Healy Park in Omagh. That, however, according to Mr McCreadie, was quashed after Croke Park objected to the plan and Omagh Town was not prepared to put local GAA officials in a compromising
situation. Town opted instead to upgrade their own pitch and install extra seating to accommodate the crowds.
Mr McCreadie accused council officials of offering only the minimum of assistance towards preparing the venue. And he further charged the council with refusing to endorse the Chelsea match programme and of failing to attend the London club's game in an 'official capacity.'
"The council did everything in their power to take those matches from Omagh," he said.
He also claimed the council only gave 30 man hours of labour towards the organisation of the games - a comment which has been hotly disputed by Chief Executive, John McKinney.
Mr McKinney also added: "The actions of Omagh District Council and its staff were designed to ensure maximum transparency and accountability in the interests of the Omagh Fund."
Turning to the role played by independent auditor, Brian Mellon - who was appointed to oversee monies accumulated from the games - Mr McCreadie said he felt the accountant should not have taken part in the recent Spotlight investigation.
"For a start he is not independent," the Town boss said. "He is a member of the local Manchester United Supporters' Club who seem to have some concerns.
"As far as I'm led to believe, when the draft accounts were published, an embargo was put on them.
The council, the club and the accountant were told they were not to speak about these accounts to anybody.
"Brian Mellon has talked about them (the accounts). The chief executive is quoted talking about these accounts. It's disgraceful. The only people who kept to their side of the agreement is Omagh Town FC," added Mr McCreadie.
He further accused the local Man Utd Supporters' Club of 'insisting' on getting 500 tickets to see the club play.
But this allegation was denied by Mr Mellon, who stated that the MUSC (Omagh Branch) had purchased 175 tickets for their 328 members. Twenty of the tickets were then donated to the Chernobyl Childrens' Appeal for the benefit of children staying in the town at the time, he added.
Mr Mellon said: "In relation to the independence, there is no conflict between my two roles. My position with the supporters' club is one which I look upon as a hobby.
"I became involved in the memorial matches when asked to by the chief executive of Omagh District Council, to try to bring clarity to the financial position of the matches and from this prepare the accounts. Where is the conflict?" the accountant asked.
Following the preparation of the draft accounts, Mr Mellon said he met with the Omagh Town manager to discuss the figures in detail. "He (McGlinchey) accepted the contents," Mr Mellon said. "Allegations have since been made in the Spotlight programme and it is up to Omagh Town FC to answer these.
"To say an embargo was put on them is ridiculous. I even received a phone call from Mr McCreadie asking me to publish them and hand over the balance of the money to the fund. If the draft accounts were agreed, why should there be an embargo? What is there to hide?" Mr Mellon added.
Mr McCreadie also said he felt bitter that an agreement Town had with the Daily Mirror, that shirts signed by Premiership players would be auctioned off in the paper, had fallen through after the shirts were collected by council officials and auctioned on the Internet.
A dinner attended by United players in the Silverbirch Hotel also became a thorny issue.
According to Mr McCreadie, Omagh Town made it clear proceeds from the venture were going to the host club who had planned to sell tickets at £30 a head to cover costs on the day. However, United bosses had informed John McKinney they would not attend unless the proceeds went to the Omagh Fund. In the event, only £13,000 was raised from the dinner.
"Until the day before the match we were told they had sold 12 out of 15 tables at £2,000 a table. But on the day of the game, that had dropped to only 7 and even then they didn't all pay the top whack.
"Other people locally paid all sorts of prices to attend the dinner," Mr McCreadie added.
The manager said he also felt angry and bitter at accusations levelled at those who had worked hard to make the games a major success. He felt everyone concerned was being labelled 'cheats and conning people.'
Within the past weeks, he said, he had received hundreds of calls of support from within the local community who had appreciated the efforts put into staging the friendlies.
He also said he felt disappointed that Sunderland had pulled out of their planned visit to Omagh. Club officials, he said, knew the identity of those who had contacted the north of England side and he promised to 'name names' at a future date. "These people have deprived the local people of seeing Sunderland play in Omagh," he added.
The manager, however, praised those from the club who had helped organise the trio of fixtures. He also applauded the RUC who, he said, had provided meals for visiting stewards.
He said: "When I see so many hard-working people doing things on a voluntary basis and being accused of all sorts, of things, it is damaging and it is not nice.
"Everybody else seems to have made their own minds up. But as a club, all we can do is come out and tell the truth.
"It was a privilege to bring the three clubs to Omagh and to see so many happy and smiling faces after the games made it all worthwhile," he added.