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Premier League side Everton's ownership and the "alleged involvement" of Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov at Goodison Park "will be scrutinised in a two-part Panorama special to be broadcast on the BBC" on Sunday and Monday, according to Matt Hughes of the LONDON TIMES. The BBC obtained documents pertaining to Usmanov's purchase of a 14.58% stake in Arsenal in '07 through the Red & White investment vehicle that he jointly owned with Farhad Moshiri, "who sold up to his business partner last year to facilitate his purchase" of 49.9% of Everton. It is understood that Panorama will claim that the documents show that Moshiri's initial Arsenal stake "was a gift from Usmanov, leading to the suggestion that the billionaire from Uzbekistan was behind the Iranian's purchase of Everton as he was the original source of the funds." Everton and a spokesperson for Usmanov "deny that he has any involvement at Goodison," which would be a breach of Premier League rules that state any shareholder with a 10% stake in one club "cannot buy into another." There have been "unsubstantiated rumours for some time" that Usmanov would ultimately join Moshiri at Everton (
LONDON TIMES, 11/4).
