Soccer: Phoenix lament unfair levy, pay debt

ACC claim the Phoenix owe over $260,000 of unpaid levies. Photo / Getty Images

The Wellington Phoenix Football Club has paid ACC $261,000 in outstanding player levies today to stave of being liquidated.

The club made the announcement at a press conference this afternoon.

ACC confirmed it has received the outstanding balance from Century City Football today and would not be taking any further action.

The court action against the Wellington Phoenix was triggered after the club missed a $65,000 payment in August, and after weeks of notice about impending court action.

The football club averted court action today by paying the total amount owed to ACC - $260,000 - after ACC had earlier filed for court action to liquidate Century City Football, which owns the Phoenix.

ACC spokesman Laurie Edwards said it was unfortunate that the court action was needed to prompt the payment, but it should not have come as a surprise because notice of the court action was made three weeks ago, and discussions with the Phoenix over outstanding fees had been ongoing for some time.

Accountant Brett Whyte, principal of the Whyte Group, who was brought in by the Phoenix to handle the ACC issues, said the outstanding levies dated back to a couple of years ago.

He questioned whether the levy charges against the Phoenix were fair and reasonable, and suggested that the club was being overcharged, considering how many players were involved and the fact that some players were based in Australia.

Mr Edwards said ACC would continue to discuss the issue with the Phoenix, but "not paying while you're having those conversations isn't an option".

"We are concerned that it took the legal action to sort it out. We look forward to working with them to make sure we don't reach this stage again ... we had several promises of payment and instalment plans not honoured, so it was unfortunate."

The Phoenix had a plan to pay the outstanding fees in instalments, but it missed the August payment of $65,000 because it did not have enough money.

Mr Edwards said those discussions would continue, but it was unreasonable to base an insurance premium on the value of claims.

"[If that were the case] then most people would pay zero premium because most people don't make claims in a year.

"If Century City Football aren't paying their levies, then essentially someone else is subsidising any injuries they've had."

He confirmed the court action had been withdrawn.

ACC earlier said in a statement that liquidation was its final option, and was not a step it took lightly.

"We fully appreciate the potential impact on the Wellington Phoenix football team," ACC acting chief executive Keith McLea said.

"But in the end, it's simply not fair that other business levy payers are forced to continue subsidising Century City Football, since injured staff members of Century City Football are still helped by ACC whether or not their employer has paid its levies.

"We believe we have been more than reasonable, over an extended period, with Century City Football. We also need to be consistent with how we would treat any other business. So we cannot simply write off this debt."