Valencia president Murthy sacked after audio leaks

Valencia confirmed on Monday that Anil Murthy has been sacked as president after he changed into heard threatening a participant and criticizing the club’s proprietor, Peter Lim, in a series of leaked audio recordings.

In a declaration, the club stated “an exchange in management is needed so that it will regain the acceptance as true with of the enthusiasts and the community and to place Valencia CF in a function for success. Effective immediately, Anil Murthy will end to be both President and a worker of Valencia CF.”

In the recordings, published in April by Valencian newspaper Superdeporte, Murthy was heard threatening to destroy the reputation of Valencia midfielder Carlos Soler if he left the club on a free transfer.

Murthy was then heard in a separate recording calling Lim “an amateur”, claiming the club’s owner was too much of “a fan” to make sensible business decisions.

“The Board would like to clarify that the content of the leaked conversations between Anil Murthy and various third parties are the personal views of Anil Murthy and not of Valencia CF. Valencia CF disassociates itself from his views,” the statement read.

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Murthy’s departure is the latest controversy to engulf Valencia during a turbulent period for the club.

Lim’s Meriton Capital company took over Valencia in 2014 but despite early investment in the team and optimism among the fans, the Singaporean’s commitment and popularity have plummeted in recent years.

The squad has suffered from a drive to cut costs as key players have been sold and not replaced.

“Pushing the ‘big stadium, big players, win La Liga and the Champions League at all costs mentality will lead to a repeat of the past,” said Murthy in 2020.

Valencia has finished ninth, 13th, and ninth in the last three seasons in La Liga, with more than 10,000 fans gathering outside Mestalla in May to protest against the running of the club.

Academy director Sean Bai will “oversee the football operations” as interim acting director fashionable, Valencia confirmed. Non-government director Khojama Kalimuddin will temporarily stand in as president of the board of directors.

Valencia won the remaining of their six La Liga titles in 2004, the 12 months they also lifted the UEFA Cup, and had been Champions League runners-up in 2000 and 2001.