Glentoran owner Ali Pour dismisses social media speculation as 'absolute nonsense' with club in 'strongest financial position it's ever been'

Pour took over at The Oval in 2019 and was in attendance at Saturday’s home game as Warren Feeney’s side defeated Coleraine 6-0 thanks to David Fisher’s hat-trick, a brace from Junior and Bobby Burns’ strike.

On a previous visit during the summer, businessman Pour reaffirmed his commitment to the east Belfast club and has done the same once again this weekend, saying Glentoran are in the “strongest financial position it's ever been”.

Social media was rife in recent weeks about the state of Glentoran’s finances, but Pour has moved to allay any potential doubts in the supporter base by confirming he’ll continue to invest for “as long as I need to”.

"I wasn't aware of anything until I was told of various rumours and I thought 'again?',” he told the club’s media channel. “I was here a few months ago and the same thing was talked about then of me pulling out and that there's no money. How much longer can this nonsense go on for? Because it's absolute nonsense.

"Nothing has changed financially since the day I started four years ago. We're still in a very strong position. I've seen some of the stuff on social media about the debt...that debt is my own money, we do not owe anybody money. The Oval is debt-free for the first time in 50-odd years I think.

"I'm told by people that Glentoran is in the strongest financial position it's ever been so this is why I get confused by these rumours...I don't know where they come from. This is a business and Glentoran is a big club and business.

"My job as a shareholder and investor is to keep investing. The Covid year and 2021 onwards I had to keep helping the club reinvesting more money. When you invest in a business you have to account for that money and it has to be recorded properly and that becomes director's loan, so we have to show that in the accounts. All businesses in the world operate that way.

"If someone is not experienced in business and sees huge debts sitting on the balance sheet they might panic, but that's not the case at all. We're totally financially sound."

Pour admits he’d like to see Glentoran become more profitable, but says rumours being dispersed during transfer windows can have a harmful impact.

“Am I happy? No, I would rather we were more profitable but that's the risk I took when I invested in Glentoran,” he added. “I will carry on doing this for as long as I need to.

"I usually brush off rumours but the timing is very interesting with it being the transfer window and the same thing happened in the summer. These rumours are quite dangerous...we're trying to sign players and what player would join a club on the verge of bankruptcy?

"The stadium money is due to come in this year hopefully and that's a big year for us. The government won't give a football club any money if they think they're going bankrupt.

"Rumours can be quite dangerous and I don't know how much longer I will have to repeat myself but it's all nonsense.

"We don't even have an overdraft...I don't know one business in the UK that doesn't have an overdraft, which tells you a lot. We're very sound financially and it's utter nonsense what you may have heard on social media."

Pour has also told fans to expect some positive transfer news over the coming weeks with multiple players set to follow Charlie Lindsay, who joined on a loan deal from Derby County, through The Oval doors in January.

"It's an interesting time,” he said. “We should be higher up and nobody is happy with where we are as far as the league is concerned, but the County Antrim Shield final is coming up and in the Irish Cup we're still a strong contender.

“The transfer window is open and there's a lot of talks going on - we're talking to many, many people so watch this space. We should hopefully have some good announcements in the next couple of weeks."