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Anil Murthy, a 49-year-old Singaporean and former diplomat, has been fired as president of Valencia football club.
The sacking was announced by the La Liga side on Monday, May 30, 2022.
Leaked audio of his remarks
Murthy's dismissal came a month after he was allegedly recorded on audio speaking disparagingly of the club's billionaire owner Peter Lim and calling Liverpool and Newcastle "s***" cities.
Liverpool and Newcastle are home to two Premier League clubs.
He had also threatened to "kill" the reputation of Carlos Soler, Valencia's big-name midfielder and one of the club's captains, if he left on a free transfer next season.
Soler is under contract until June 2023 but has not signed a contract extension.
Murthy had been president of Valencia since July 2017.
What was on leaked audio
Valencia-based sports newspaper Super Deporte published the leaked audio recordings earlier on May 16 that were supposedly recorded during a private dinner attended by Murthy in April.
Murthy was allegedly speaking to businessmen.
What Murthy allegedly said
According to Football Espana, which reported on the Super Deporte exposé, Murthy allegedly said “Liverpool is a s*** city".
He allegedly added: “But Liverpool as a club started to globalise itself 20 years ago to have a budget and now it has one of a billion euros. If you go to Liverpool and Valencia there is a great difference, even in the streets of the city. The industry exists, but the club, it's a club that is local there, it has its fans, its fan groups, but it is very international."
“Newcastle is a s*** city too but a club that has a level of patronage..."
Club response
Valencia said in its latest response that the remarks have damaged their reputation and that the content of the leaked recordings has negatively impacted the club's relationship with their fans.
The club also sought to distance itself from the remarks, as it added that the opinions expressed in those extracts were not the views held by club, but by Murthy.
"The board hold the view that a change in leadership is required, in order to regain the trust of the fans and the community," the club said in a statement.
"Effective immediately, Anil Murthy will cease to be both president and an employee of Valencia CF."
Valencia academy director Sean Bai has been appointed as interim CEO while the club looks for a replacement for Murthy.
Murthy took over from fellow Singaporean, Chan Lay Hoon.
More background
The club had initially released a statement in the wake of the leak to criticise its circulation but did not deny its existence, according to Football Espana.
The club did say the recordings were “edited and adulterated to convey a false or biased narrative”.
Murthy personally responded on the same day of the leak, calling it a "campaign to smear Valencia CF".
"I am here to clarify things, because I have nothing to hide. We are in a surreal situation, at a time of the season in which we all have to focus on the final game against Celta Vigo," he said at that time.
"These things are undoubtedly related to the 'movement' organised to damage the club, damage the team and damage us all in the final game of the season on Saturday."
The club previously said Murthy and his family have received death threats in the wake of the publication of the audio recordings.
Valencia fans' relationship with club owner
Valencia finished ninth in the La Liga this season.
It failed to qualify for any European competition for a third straight season.
Valencia fans staged a walkout of their final La Liga game of the season against Celta Vigo in May, ESPN reported.
The move was to protest owner Lim and Murthy's running of the club.
Only 5,000 supporters showed up at the stadium.
Lim acquired debt-ridden Valencia in 2014.
His relationship with supporters has been tumultuous.
He was initially hailed as a saviour of the club, but subsequently, the club had to regularly offload star players to reduce its large debts.
Valencia did not always find success on the field.
There have been calls for Lim to sell the club, but the Singaporean businessman has said he has no intention of doing so.
Top photos via Anil Murthy Twitter & Valencia Facebook