Latest news with #BarrowAFC
BBC News
19 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Stephen Vaughan, controversial former football club owner, dies
A controversial Merseyside businessman, boxing promoter and owner of football and rugby league clubs has died aged 62. Stephen Vaughan's death was announced by his son and business partner Stephen Vaughan Jr, who described him as his "hero". Mr Vaughan had spells as majority stakeholder in Chester City, Barrow AFC and Widnes 2009, while in charge at Chester, Mr Vaughan became the first person to fail the Football Association's 'fit and proper person' test over his involvement in a £500,000 VAT fraud. Former professional boxer Derry Matthews, from Birkenhead, also paid tribute to his "first ever manager" - writing on Facebook: "No one could do a prep talk before a fight like you." Mr Vaughan was banned from acting as a company director for 10 years after an Insolvency Service investigation concluded he had been involved in a "carousel fraud" while a director at Widnes Vikings in 2006. Carousel frauds involve the cross-border trading of goods aimed at illegally reclaiming had entered into administration in October 2007 with liabilities of more than £ the FA struck off Mr Vaughan in 2009, he was forced to handover the reigns at Chester and sold his stake to his son. Prison sentence Mr Vaughan took over Barrow FC in 1995. But he resigned as chair in 1997 after being named in a Customs and Excise money laundering probe centred around Liverpool drugs baron Curtis Warren. The case was eventually dropped and he returned as chairman before leaving the club permanently in 1998. In 2010 Mr Vaughan was convicted of an affray and the assault of a police officer in Wirral and received a 15 month prison sentence. He was released the following year and in 2012 moved to Malta, where he purchased local club Floriana FC and appointed Stephen Vaughan Jnr as chairman. In 2016, the pair were linked to a buy-out at Bangor City FC in North Wales, and Mr Vaughan Jr was player-manager until 2019. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
BBC News
13-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Barrow AFC asks Fleetwood Town 'can we have our ball back?'
A football club's appeal to get its ball back after a rival side appeared to use it in a kit launch has gone Two team Fleetwood Town shared a picture on social media of midfielder Mark Helm posing in the club's new strip with his foot resting on a ball, on which had been handwritten "BAFC".Barrow AFC's post in response asking "can we have our ball back please?" attracted more than 56,000 likes and hundreds of comments.A Fleetwood Town spokesman said the club would not comment on the post, but "maybe one day the ball will return". Fleetwood initially responded to Barrow saying: "That could be anyone's ball." Others have suggested the ball belonged to League One side Burton Albion, which 22-year-old Helm joined Fleetwood from in July shared the kit launch photo with the caption "perfection".Barrow finished 16th in the League Two table in the season that has just ended, one point and two places behind AFC has been approached for comment. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
