Cardiff City have slammed the Supporters' Trust in a stunning response to an open letter sent directly to owner Vincent Tan.
The club's board came out fighting on Monday afternoon, declaring Cardiff City Supporters' Trust "an unrecognised official entity" and accusing its leadership of a "self-serving agenda against the club they claim to support".
The move comes hours after details emerged of a letter sent by the Trust to owner Vincent Tan, calling for changes at boardroom level amid claims of a lack of transparency and communication. You can read the contents of the letter sent to Tan here.
In a statement, Cardiff City said: "The Board of Directors have been made aware of an open letter circulated by individuals within the body known as Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust to Tan Sri Vincent Tan. As such, the Board would like to clarify issues in respect of communication with this body and indeed the nature of this unhelpful, inaccurate and disruptive written piece.
"The organisation known as Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust was de-registered as a mutual organisation/Trust from the Financial Conduct Authority in 2016 and does not meet the Football Supporters Associations (FSA’s) basic minimum requirements. For these important reasons, Cardiff City Football Club does not recognise the Trust as an official entity.
"Cardiff City Football Club and its Board of Directors recognises Cardiff City Supporters’ Club as its primary supporter body, alongside the Disabled Supporters’ Association (DSA) and Cardiff City Travel Group.
"It is these supporter bodies, representing Cardiff City supporters as a collective, with whom the club’s Board and its executives have constructive and healthy regular communication for the betterment of the supporter experience and indeed the long-term wellbeing of our Football Club.
"It is unfortunate that a small collective of individuals chose the hours prior to kick-off against Derby County on Saturday morning to pursue a personal and self-serving agenda against the Club they claim to support."
Earlier, the Trust's letter, which was sent to Tan ahead of the weekend's final match against Derby County on Saturday, claimed the club lacks directors who commit 100% of their time to the club or have background in the executive management of a football club. The Trust spoke of a breakdown in communication with the club, citing an atmosphere of "mistrust".
They added: "We have recently even had the farcical situation where correspondence between the board and the Trust was conducted through a solicitor. The directors appear reluctant to engage or provide any clarity. More recently they simply continue to reject the opportunity to meet or answer any of the questions put to them.
"This situation is generally unhealthy and will drive a greater wedge between the club and the most important of stakeholders, the fans."
The Trust also put forward some changes they would like to see made as a result. They have called for a chief executive to be appointed who can be "empowered to make all the necessary decisions through the club board".
They said of the proposal: "Naturally, the key objectives for the role are to secure the long-term financial stability of the club, to establish success on the field commensurate to the club’s ability to trade playing staff, and to inspire a collective vision for the club."
Secondly, they wish for the club to add a Supporters' Trust director to its board. A move, they said, would help to hear the voice of the supporters at board level more regularly and which could help keep fans more informed than they currently are.
They said: "We believe by appointing a supporters’ trust director on the board, Cardiff City will lead the way forward on this, setting an example for others, as we have done in the case of safe standing."
The Trust added they would welcome the opportunity to discuss the current issues and proposed changes with Tan himself and hope to see him at a Cardiff City game at some point in the near future.
Such a discussion appears to be a long way off, with the club's response highlighting the bitter divide that has developed between the two organisations.
