Pompey deny winding up petition

Portsmouth have denied being formally served with a winding up petition by the UK's HM Revenue & Customs, in a statement released by the club.

The club have also claimed they are surprised by the actions of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs over the petition which is in respect of “VAT, PAYE and National Insurance contributions which either have been, or are about to be paid, or are disputed”.

The club also claim they are disputing the amount of VAT outstanding and expect the HMRC to withdraw their demands.

The petition was presented on December 23 but a full court hearing will not take place until February, according to a BBC report.

Premier League strugglers Portsmouth are currently operating under a transfer embargo due to their financial problems.

A Premier League spokesman said: “We continue to monitor Portsmouth’s situation closely and remain in frequent dialogue with the club. Clearly, we hope they settle any issues they have with the HMRC before the court hearing in February.”

Portsmouth have endured a traumatic year in 2009.

A bid from Sulaiman Al Fahim was accepted in May and he completed his takeover in August.

At the start of October the club admitted failing to pay players’ wages on time and on October 5 Al Fahim sold 90% of his Portsmouth shares to Ali Al Faraj.

Early this month the club confirmed that players’ wages had been delayed again.

On the pitch Paul Hart was sacked on November 24 and two days later Avram Grant succeeded him as manager.

Pompey are currently four points adrift of Hull, Bolton and West Ham.