Hamilton director Gerry Strain and owner Seref Zengin deemed 'unfit'
Hamilton have been told by the Scottish Football Association that owner Seref Zengin and director of football Gerry Strain are not deemed "fit and proper to hold a position within association football".
The governing body has ordered the crisis-hit Accies to ensure that, with immediate effect, the pair no longer carry out any role, be involved in the management or administration, or exert any power whatsoever over management or administration of the League One club.
"The Scottish FA has written to Hamilton Academical to notify that, following investigation, neither Seref Zengin nor Gerry Strain are fit and proper to hold a position within association football, in accordance with Scottish FA Article 10.3," read an SFA statement on Tuesday.
Zengin took control of Accies from Colin McGowan two years ago, but the club has been plagued by a string of off-field woes and he has reportedly been working on a deal to hand the reins to a consortium.
The Bellshill businessman has been deemed unfit for involvement in the game as a result of "acknowledged responsibility for financial matters at the club during a period when the club has demonstrated serious and sustained financial mismanagement, by repeatedly failing to pay individuals and organisations on time, including players, HMRC and employee pension funds".
Strain, who is currently the only director of Hamilton, has been sanctioned for his "direct involvement" in various charges contained in the SPFL Notice of Complaint served on the club in April, the club's failure to meet Club Academy Scotland criteria, issues around child wellbeing, and various SPFL rule breaches relating to the payment of amateur and trialist players.
The SFA also considered the position of former chairman Jock Brown - who resigned last week due to health issues - but said: "The Board was satisfied that there was insufficient evidence to suggest that Mr Brown was not fit and proper to hold his position as a director of the club."
Accies, who spent seven consecutive seasons in the Premiership between 2014 and 2021, are currently seventh in League One after recently incurring a six-point penalty.
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