Middlesex claimed to have recovered £100,000 in unauthorised payments made to their former chief executive Richard Goatley as their long-running feud continued.
The club reported Goatley to the Metropolitan police last May after alleging he had falsely claimed tens of thousands of pounds in unauthorised expenses while in charge at Lord’s between 2016 and 2021, but the Met confirmed on Friday that after an eight-month investigation “no criminal offences could be identified”.
Goatley has always denied any wrongdoing and has lodged a personal injury claim against the club in the high court. Middlesex have not had any contact with him for several months and he was not aware that the club had recouped any money that had been paid to him.
“I have now been informed that the police will be taking no further action following a complaint filed against me by Middlesex County Cricket Club,” Goatley said.
“The police have confirmed no offence was made. This news is welcome and comes as no surprise to me. I have always maintained my innocence.
“Middlesex filed a police complaint against me three years after I had left the club, upon receiving notice of my high court claim against them. I now wish to focus on my civil claim against Middlesex.”
Middlesex did not comment when contacted by the Guardian about the police’s decision to end their investigation, but later released a statement announcing that £100,000 had been recovered from an unnamed bank and insurance company.
“Middlesex County Cricket Club is pleased to confirm that, after a lengthy and challenging process, the Club has successfully recovered £100,000 that was identified as having been incorrectly paid to their former CEO Richard Goatley,” their statement read. “This comprised £57,000 of unauthorised cheques paid into Richard Goatley’s bank account and a further £43,000 of ineligible payments made into his pension fund.
“We are grateful to the bank and insurance company involved in ensuring that these payments were refunded to the Club. We have no comment to make on the decision that the Metropolitan police have reached and their reasoning for doing so.”
Middlesex claimed to have discovered evidence of Goatley misappropriating club funds after he resigned due to ill health in 2021. In September 2023 Middlesex issued a statement saying “the club is pursuing its legal claims against former CEO Richard Goatley” and that “barristers have been instructed”, but the matter was not referred to the police until after he had lodged a civil claim against them eight months later.
Goatley suffered a stroke while in a Middlesex committee meeting in April 2021, which led to the club announcing his resignation three months later. In September 2021 Middlesex wrote to Goatley claiming he owed them tens of thousands of pounds in illegitimate expenses claims, including thousands in parking fines and hotel bills.
A bitter legal battle has raged ever since, with Middlesex pursuing repayments and Goatley claiming that the club withheld a significant portion of his severance package. After two years of exchanging legal letters Middlesex made the matter public with a statement on their website in September 2023, which led to Goatley issuing a statement in his defence.
“I completely deny any allegations of misappropriation of funds,” he said. “Repeated legal threats and demands for unevidenced sums of money, that I neither owe nor know anything about, for almost three years has been tortuous, for me, my wife and our young children. Our repeated calls for a resolution remain unanswered.
“Public statements have been made by the club describing legal proceedings but no case has been filed. We have been assumed guilty and have not been able to move on.”
The police confirmed on Friday that their investigation into the alleged fraud had been dropped. A Met police spokesperson said: “On 13 May 2024, police received a report of fraud allegations made by Middlesex County Cricket Club. The nature of the alleged offences were complex and required careful consideration.
“After a thorough and detailed assessment, officers decided on Wednesday 29 January that no criminal offences could be identified. The case will be reopened should further investigative opportunities become available.”
The Goatley affair forms part of a chaotic period at Middlesex, which began with the discovery of a black hole in the club’s pension provisions while he was CEO. Middlesex made an error in pension payments, which resulted in employees’ pensions being wrongly paid for 12 years, which eventually cost the club about £350,000.
Middlesex’s governance problems have continued, with several board members resigning in the last two years and the club given a suspended points deduction and £50,000 fine in 2023 by the England and Wales Cricket Board for financial irregularities. In addition there have been several fines paid to HMRC for the late filing of accounts relating to their recreational arm, Middlesex Cricket Board.
The ECB placed Middlesex in “special measures” after imposing the suspended points deduction, giving it the right to attend board meetings and approve the club’s accounts.
Middlesex recorded a loss of £952,000 in 2021, reducing their net assets to £179,000, down from around £2m two years previously, but their finances have since stabilised. The club posted their first profit for seven years of £131,000 in 2023, although this was largely due to cost-cutting measures that have had a significant effect on the team’s performance.
