SWINDON Town Supporters Trust say they are still keen to strike a deal for the purchase of the County Ground but must wait until the football club’s current ownership disputes are settled before they can proceed.

With Swindon Town Football Club owner and chairman Lee Power still entangled in two separate High Court cases with Michael Standing and Australian businessman Clem Morfuni, the Trust say they are not able to proceed with the join-venture purchase until they and Swindon Borough Council are completely sure who controls the club.

No concrete date has been set for Power to return to court, therefore the Trust cannot offer fans an update on when the issue might be resolved, however, chairman Steve Mytton stated he and his fellow supporters will not stop until the deal is done.

Speaking on the Trust Matters pilot show, published on YouTube earlier this week, Mytton and vice-chair Rob Angus outlined the timeline from initial talks into purchasing the County Ground freehold up to the current day in a bid to clarify the situation for fans.

With the deal finally appearing to be making its way towards a positive outcome, the court proceedings involving Town chairman Lee Power made their way into the public domain in May 2020.

It was at this point that the deal to buy the County Ground was put on hold as the Trust waited for the ownership situation to be legally clarified.

Explaining where the Trust stands at time of writing, vice-chairman Rob Angus said: “Back in May 2020, we were made aware of two different legal proceedings on the ownership of the football club.

“One being Clem Morfuni who we knew had 15 per cent shares, but he had a dispute over how those shares were agreed and executed with Lee Power.

“That one looks relatively straightforward, but as with any legal case, it takes time.

“The second one, which was probably the more surprising and contentious court case, involves Michael Standing.

“Standing claims he owns 50 per cent of the football club. Now if Mike Standing is correct and you take that 50 per cent and Clem Morfuni’s 15 per cent, then you’re talking about a different owner of the football club than Lee Power.

“That calls into question who us and Swindon Borough Council do a deal with because while there is a question mark over 50 per cent ownership of the club, it’s difficult to move forward and know that you’re dealing with the person who actually owns the football club.

“So we, and the council, have had to put a pause on proceedings until the legal action is confirmed or the three parties get together to sort this out outside of legal action.”