The former owner and chairman of Gillingham FC has spoken of his hurt at being “completely isolated” from the club after nearly 30 years.
Paul Scally was in charge for 27 years from 1995 until he stepped down as chairman following the club’s relegation from League One in 2022.
In December of that year, the club was taken over by husband and wife partnership Brad and Shannon Galinson who bought a majority share in the business.
It left Mr Scally owning a 30% minority stake and later being downgraded to non-executive director in the summer.
But despite being initially heavily involved in things at Priestfield when the Galinsons first took charge, the 69-year-old hasn’t been seen at games this season.
A shareholders’ meeting has been called for Thursday (October 10) with a view to removing Mr Scally as club director.
A statement from the club said: “The Board of Gillingham Football Club has 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.”
Just days before the verdict, Mr Scally says he feels heartbroken at being frozen out from the club.
Speaking to The Mirror, he said: “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.
“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 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.
“I’ve kept the club going in the most atrocious circumstances and this is the way I get treated. It’s so wrong.”
The father-of-seven, who made his name in the photocopying business prior to taking charge of the club, believes communication at the club has gone downhill during the past year.
He added: “When I first met Brad, I really liked him [and] it was fine for the first nine months.
“I actually had other deals which would have bought me out completely but he wanted me to stay.
“When Brad came in, he told me that he sold his business portfolio for over $2billion. He told me sport was his passion and he wanted to buy into a well-run English football club.
“But there’s been a change in the vibe at the club in the past 12 months. What about the refurbishment? Pre-season tours? People are asking me: ‘Why aren’t we doing this? Why aren’t we doing that?’ Staff were asking me questions but I didn’t have the answers.”
Scally insists the attempts to remove him from the board are a breach of contract and a breach of the articles of the company.
He explained: “I have to take it further. I’m determined to fight it. There’s some fans on social media who don’t like me and no chairman of any club in the country is loved by every fan. That’s part of the job.
“But the vast majority of fans, the sponsors and all the stakeholders in the club know what I’ve done down the years for Gillingham.”
Gillingham Football Club declined to respond to Mr Scally’s comments.
