FILE - Josh Wander, CEO of the 777 Partners Group, speaks at a press conference on the entry as new investor for Bundesliga soccer club Hertha BSC in Berlin, Germany, Monday, March 13, 2023. An Australian airline grounded. A lawsuit in a federal court in New York alleging $600 million fraud. A long-stalled bid to buy English Premier League soccer club Everton. These are troubled times for Miami-based investment group 777 Partners, one of the wave of United States owners in European soccer, bringing more anxiety for fans of its teams in several countries. On Tuesday, May 7, 2024, financial administrators of the collapsed 777-owned Australian airline Bonza confirmed all flights are canceled for one more week. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP, file)
Brazil's Vasco da
Gama and embattled investment group 777 Partners are intensifying their legal
battle after the American company went to court Tuesday to reclaim its rights
over the top-flight soccer club.
Last week, a Rio de
Janeiro judge preemptively removed 777 Partners from Vasco's soccer
department's administration after a series of complaints from the club.
Brazilian law allows foreign entities to buy the rights to soccer sections of
multi-sport clubs, in an operation known as SAF.
The preliminary
ruling is yet to be confirmed, but the American group stepped up the fight in
court and accused the club of not making image rights payments to its players
on Monday, as scheduled.
“It was the first
time that wages or image rights payments have been delayed since we took over
18 months ago,” 777 said in a statement Tuesday. “The injunction that
momentarily pushes us out of the command of Vasco's SAF stopped us from making
a bridge payment, as we did last year in the same period of the year, when
soccer revenues are lower.”
Image rights are
part of the payment for footballers. Vasco executives have said the payment of
wages is up to date for all players.
The tug of war in
Brazil adds to the pressure on the Miami-based company, which has recently
faced setbacks in court over its ownership of Belgium's Standard Liège plus
other financial problems.
A court in Liege
last week ruled in favor of Standard’s former owner Bruno Venanzi and
shareholders of the company holding the club’s stadium. They claimed 777 had
defaulted on a payment.
The legal woes for
the 777 add to its period of financial turmoil. The Miami-based investment
company has also seen its airline in Australia grounded in recent weeks. It
also faces a fraud lawsuit in New York.
777’s other clubs
include Genoa in Italy’s top tier and Hertha Berlin in Germany’s second
division.