Angry Villareal say ’Well should apologise for website comment

Jul 9 2008 by Andrew Weston, Wishaw Press

SPANISH giants Villarreal have criticised Motherwell, claiming the reason why their pre-season match was called off was because ’Well could not afford them and saying they had not signed a mandate to play.

The proposed match was arranged to commemorate the renaming of the Main Stand at Fir Park in honour of the late Phil O’Donnell .

A report on the official Motherwell FC website said: “Despite having a signed mandate to play, the Spanish club are no longer able to complete the fixture.”

But a spokesman for the Primera Liga outfit said: “Two different UK-based agencies approached us about this match and in both cases we asked for a participation fee.

“We were told Motherwell did not have the money by both agencies so our response was that we would not participate. That was the end of the story.

“We never sent a letter of interest, a letter of acceptance or any official document.”

The spokesman added: “Motherwell should be sending an official letter of apology to us for the trouble caused by the story that appeared on the official Motherwell website.”

The re-naming will now be postponed until later in the season.