- Title: CHINA: SOCCER - Gill defends his FA role following Benitez comments
- Date: 15th January 2009
- Summary: MACAU, CHINA (JANUARY 14, 2009) (REUTERS) MANCHESTER UNITED CHIEF EXECUTIVE DAVID GILL ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID GILL, MANCHESTER UNITED CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SAYING ABOUT RAFAEL BENITEZ COMMENTS: "I wish that was the case (smiles). No, I think obviously the comments he made last Friday Alex (Ferguson, Manchester United manager) dealt with
- Embargoed: 30th January 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China
- Country: China
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA8ZIGZSG0OPDGLXT7GD295PGX3
- Story Text: Manchester United chief executive David Gill responds to Rafael Benitez claims by branding the comments "inaccurate".
Manchester United chief executive David Gill hit back at Liverpool manger Rafael Benitez on Tuesday (January 14), describing the Spaniard's claims as inaccurate.
United thrashed Chelsea 3-0 on Sunday (January 12) to close the gap to Liverpool to five points with two games in hand, after Liverpool could only manage a goalless draw with Stoke.
Benitez, who had earlier accused United manager Sir Alex Ferguson of bullying referees, then turned his attention to Gill, a senior figure at England's governing Football Association, on Monday (Januray 13).
The Spaniard claimed that Gill's position on the FA board could create a conflict of interest, but Manchester United Chieff Executive responded to this with laughter, branding the comments "totally inaccurate".
"With the respects to the comments to my position I think it is totally inaccurate. Reality really is that on the FA board sit three representatives of the Premier League - the Chairman Sir Dave Richards, the Chairman of Bolton Phil Gartside and myself. We are elected every year by all the clubs in the Premier League, every club has a vote and when we are on that boards we are there representing the Premier League. I fully understand that, I am aware of it and I am not representing Manchester United so you know...
the reality if you look at the decisions and you look at the issues and I think anyone would understand that we don't get a special treatment because of that, it is not the way we operate. So I was surprise by them and they are totally inaccurate," Gill commented on Benitez's latest remarks at a new conference in Macau.
Gill was in China to launch details of United's 2009 tour of Asia, the club's fifth to the continent in the last decade.
The most supported football club in the world has more than 333 million followers in Asia. Gill said the summer tour is the opportunity for the club to repay their loyal supporters, explore the new market and generate business growth.
"The tours we have - these are the opportunities to get close to the fans. We have many fans following us through the Premier League, following us through our web sites, we've got local language web sites now - in Chinese, in Japanese, in Korean and we have other plans to expand local language web sites so it is all those ways of getting to those fans, to communicating with them, to offering them product as for example in the shop you are going to see through our partnership with Nike. All of that increases the presence so it is not a direct billing but it is just general business growth that we are seeing. Asia is a very important market to us and that fan following is crucial and that is what we sell to this partners, that's why you are getting into bed, into relationship with Manchester United because of the followers following," Gill said.
The Manchester United Experience, launched in Macao in December, 2008 and Club's Megastore combine for United's biggest physical presence outside of Manchester.
Tour 2009 will include stops in Jakarta for the first time, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and China. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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