Football League World
·8 October 2024
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·8 October 2024
Scally has been frozen out at Gillingham despite a 30% stake in the club.
Gillingham are at the centre of a boardroom row, with former chairman, Paul Scally, in his own words, "not welcome" at the club despite owning a 30% stake.
Scally bought Gillingham in 1995 and has been a huge presence at the club over the last 30 years.
However, he sold a controlling stake in the club to Brad Galinson in 2022, and despite retaining 30%, he has now seemingly been forced out of the club.
A report from the Mirror outlines how Scally "has been banned from the boardroom and directors’ box", despite his long-standing relationship with the club that's seen him keep Gills afloat on a number of occasions over a three-decade period.
That's all despite Galinson being the driving factor behind Scally staying on with Gillingham at the time of the American's controlling stake purchase.
"They’ve told me I’m not welcome. I came to the club because I love football not because I want to make money. It’s my life. I’ve been at the club for more than half my working life. It’s a really bad situation," Scally said, as quoted in the Mirror.
"I haven’t been to a game this season. I’ve been completely isolated from the club. It feels they’re trying to destroy me. I had a meeting with Brad in April which turned into a bit of an argument. That was the last time we had a proper conversation.
"If Brad Galinson (pictured above) doesn’t want me around the club, why not just come to me and sort it out? Instead, I’ve been banned from all official areas of the club and it’s very hurtful. My email account has been blocked and staff have been told they are not allowed to talk to me. The biggest problem is how much I miss the football.
"Some of the staff are unhappy. A few of the players have been in touch because they don’t like the way I’ve been treated. I’ve kept the club going in the most atrocious circumstances and this is the way I get treated. It’s so wrong."
Now, a statement from Gillingham, released via the Mirror's article, has confirmed that an EGM will take place considering removing Scally as a director.
“The Board of Gillingham Football Club have called a shareholders’ meeting to consider removing Mr Scally as a director of the club. Our investigations are ongoing and so we are unable to comment further at this stage.”
Scally insists that he is "determined" to "fight" the current situation unfolding at Gills and that he had been happy to walk away from the club in 2022 after relegation from League One. Galinson, though, convinced him to stay. The 69-year-old insists there has been a "change in the vibe" at the club over the last year.
One of the more disappointing aspects of the situation at Gillingham for Scally is pinpointed as him missing the football side of things.
Gillingham dropped out of League One at the end of the 2021/22 season and have finished 17th and 12th in League Two during the following two campaigns.
However, this time around, they have endured a fast start, winning six of their opening 10 games and collecting 19 points - they are one of four sides to accrue that points tally so far this season. Mark Bonner's side trail leaders, Walsall, on goals scored, having notched 12 to the league leaders' 19.
Gills have only seen their goal breached on five occasions so far this season, though, and look set for an exciting campaign.
Gillingham take on Accrington Stanley at Priestfield Stadium on Saturday in a 15:00 kick-off, with the situation involving Scally set to rear its head before then.