EPL side Watford Exec Chair Raffaele Riva "has resigned" in the wake of the London Telegraph’s revelation that the club "submitted a forged bank letter to the Football League" when Owner Gino Pozzo took sole control at Vicarage Road in '14, according to Sam Wallace of the London TELEGRAPH. In an "extensive statement on Wednesday night aimed at reassuring fans" that the club believes it has "done nothing wrong and will not face a points deduction" over the offense, Watford said that Riva, who had oversight of the legal process that involved the letter, had "stepped away from his position." Watford CEO Scott Duxbury has taken over his role. The letter, purporting to be from HSBC, and dated July 14, 2014, "was part of a range of documents" submitted on behalf of Pozzo to demonstrate to the EFL that he "had the funds to bankroll Watford, then in the Championship." At the time, the Italian "was taking sole ownership of the club," which would later be promoted to the Premier League under his leadership. At the time of the revelations, Riva said that he had "used an unnamed third party to assist him in collating the documents needed for sole ownership to pass to Pozzo," who owns the club through Hornets Investment Ltd., from his father, Giampaolo. Riva said then that he "had no reason to believe that the letter was not genuine" and that the subsequent development had been a "shock" to him. There is "no suggestion that either of the Pozzos had any knowledge that the document was forged" (TELEGRAPH, 11/2). The PA reported Watford claims to have concluded its own investigation, which it will send to the EFL, and stated the club is "not guilty of any wrongdoing," while the departing Riva said that he "fully refutes (sic), and will protect vigorously my integrity against any recent speculation." Riva: "For the past four years I have acted with honesty and in good faith in all my dealings on behalf of the club, and the club has developed and grown a great deal in this period. I fully refute, and will protect vigorously my integrity against, any recent speculation" (PA, 11/2).
