Anil Murthy
Anil Kumar Murthy (born 19 March 1973)[1] is a Singaporean diplomat and sports executive. He was president of Spanish football club Valencia CF in La Liga from 2017 to 2022, under compatriot owner Peter Lim.
Biography
[edit]Murthy graduated with a degree in electrical and mechanical engineering from Paris, and a master's degree from INSEAD Business School. He went into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as deputy chief of mission to Paris and permanent delegate to UNESCO for four years.[2]
In April 2017, Singaporean businessman Peter Lim made a change at Valencia CF, the La Liga football club he had owned since 2014, by replacing president Lay Hoon Chan with Murthy, effective from July.[3] Murthy had been an executive consultant at the club since the previous November.[4]
Valencia won the Copa del Rey on 25 May 2019, beating FC Barcelona, but manager Marcelino was sacked in September. Murthy rejected Marcelino's claim that he was dismissed for putting resources into winning the cup instead of the league.[5] It was reported that the players were not speaking to Murthy and vice versa, out of their support for Marcelino.[6]
Valencia's administration were in a dispute with the Curva Nord supporters' group, who wanted more tickets for the 2019 final. The group ceased their cheering activities and insulted Murthy online, who responded by saying he would suppress them and called them the English insult "twats".[7] A new group "La Curva de Mestalla 1919" returned in July 2022 after Murthy's exit.[8]
In May 2022, audio messages of Murthy were leaked by Valencian sporting newspaper Super Deporte, in which he called Liverpool and Newcastle upon Tyne "shit cities" and was interpreted as calling Lim an amateur. He also said he would run a smear campaign against players Carlos Soler and José Gayà should they leave.[9] Murthy said he was misinterpreted and had called Lim un aficionado, which can mean a fan as well as an amateur in Spanish. He said that his point about the English cities was how they have passionate football support without the favourable weather of Valencia. He said that he had resigned, in response to numerous headlines saying he had been dismissed.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ "El nuevo cargo de Anil Murthy" [Anil Murthy's new position]. Las Provincias (in Spanish). 12 August 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ "Quién es quién en el Consejo de Administración del Valencia CF" [Who's Who of the Valencia CF Board of Administrators]. Las Provincias (in Spanish). 10 December 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ "Anil Murthy to replace Chan as Valencia president in July". Special Broadcasting Service. Reuters. 11 April 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ Burgos, Julián (10 April 2017). "¿Quién es Anil Murthy?: de diplomático a presidente" [Who is Anil Murthy?: from diplomat to president]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ "Murthy explains Marcelino's sacking: The challenge towards Valencia's model was unacceptable". Marca. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ Picó, D. (12 October 2019). "The Valencia squad no longer speaks with Murthy". Marca. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ "Anil Murthy: "Violencia Cero. Vamos a suprimir estos idiotas"" [Anil Murthy: "Zero Violence. We are going to suppress these idiots"] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ "La Curva volverá a Mestalla la próxima temporada" [La Curva will return to Mestalla next season] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ "La amenaza del presidente del Valencia a Carlos Soler: "Si se va gratis, lo mato con la prensa"" [Valencia president's threat to Carlos Soler: "Should he leave for free, I will kill him with the press"]. El Confidencial (in Spanish). 16 May 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ Lee, David (24 June 2022). "Football: Former Valencia president Anil Murthy on his exit, Peter Lim and 'audio leaks'". The Straits Times. Retrieved 29 September 2024.