Transfer of Hearts ownership to supporters delayed by pandemic

The transfer of Hearts ownership to supporters has been delayed

The club's owner, Ann Budge, was due to hand over her controlling stake to the fan group Foundation of Hearts next month.

The uncertainty of Coronavirus has forced the takeover to be postponed.

The FoH chairman, Stuart Wallace, has emailed members to reassure them the club is still fully committed to fan ownership.

"As we all know, the current situation at Hearts and across the footballing world is critical,'' he wrote."With very little income and little prospect of that position being reversed any time soon, we have seen the prompt action which Ann Budge took to try to address the challenges and keep the club functioning.

"Hearts may have been the first to go public with such a tough announcement - it will not be the last, as news from clubs as diverse as Aberdeen, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Leeds United has demonstrated over the last few days.

"Given the troubled situation, the board of the Foundation of Hearts has taken the decision that this is not the time to be adding any further potential disruption by pushing forward with the handover of the majority shareholding.

"All parties remain totally committed to fan ownership and this handover will, of course, still happen, but such an historic event must be conducted at a more settled time - a time when the handover enables the club to proceed seamlessly with its business and a time when we can properly celebrate the achievement of the fans in reaching this milestone.

"Sadly, this is not a time when any of us, we believe, has the inclination for a celebration, however well merited.''