Arkaga defends its role at Cork City

ARKAGA, the owners of Cork City, have broken their silence on the current crisis at Turner’s Cross but have given no clear indication of their plans for the future.

In a brief statement, Arkaga said yesterday that it had ploughed €2.4million into Cork City making the company, they claim, the “single biggest benefactor in the League of Ireland, something which has been overlooked in all of this”. Arkaga also said that they are “continuing to support Cork City and are in daily contact with the management team” and added that they felt it was “unfortunate” that they have received “all the bad publicity” as a result of the club’s plight.

Although they made no reference to it in their statement, it is understood that Arkaga ceased putting money into Cork City a number of weeks ago, and the club — believed to be €750,000 in debt and effectively surviving on a week to week basis — are now actively seeking new investment. And while efforts continue behind the scenes to secure City’s future, manager Alan Mathews has paid tribute to the players who put all other matters aside to see off the challenge of Shamrock Rovers in the FAI Cup on Friday night.