Vancouver FC owners dispute lawsuit filed by former coach seeking $716K loan repayment
CBC
Defendants in the lawsuit filed by former Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi over non-repayment of a $500,000 loan say the court action amounts to "blackmail by litigation."
Club owners SixFive Sports and Entertainment and managing director Dean Shillington make the accusation in a counterclaim against Ghotbi that is seeking damages for breach of confidence and abuse of process.
Ghotbi filed his civil claim last month saying the club reneged on paying $715,879.45 in principal and interest on the $500,000 he loaned the club in 2023.
The response filed by SixFive and Shillington, however, paints a different picture of events.
Counter to Ghotbi's claim, the club alleges it was the coach, not the club, who first brought the idea of personally investing in the club to president Rob Friend.
The response contends that Ghotbi wanted to make an equity investment, but after discussions decided in July 2023 to loan the club $500,000 at 12 per cent interest per year and an option to convert it to equity.
In his lawsuit, Ghotbi claimed the club told him he would be first in line to have his loan paid back.But the response states Ghotbi was not a priority creditor as he claims, and that he “knew or ought to have known [the loan] would be subordinate to SixFive’s existing secured creditors [and] that repayment of the loan was dependent on future liquidity events.”
The response says Ghotbi originally told SixFive that he intended to convert his loan to equity, but then in early 2025 changed his mind and demanded repayment.
It claims Ghotbi "blantantly, maliciously and improperly" breached settlement privilege by making certain information public, including by "improperly disseminating the Notice of Civil Claim to members of the media, including Canadian and international soccer media, for the purpose of causing SixFive and Mr. Shillington to suffer reputational harm and financial loss."
Vancouver FC is one of eight teams in the Canadian Professional League (CPL), Canada's top professional men's soccer league. Ghotbi coached Vancouver FC from its league debut in 2023 until his departure in July of 2025.
Although Ghotbi said the decision to part ways was mutual, SixFive and Shillington claim in court documents that he was actually fired. But, they state that at Ghotbi’s request, it was publicly characterized as a mutual decision in order to preserve his professional reputation.
Along with Vancouver FC, SixFive Sports and Entertainment owns a second CPL club — Pacific FC— based out of Starlight Stadium, a city-owned facility in Langford near Victoria.
On Wednesday, the City of Langford announced that negotiations with Pacific FC on a stadium agreement and indoor training centre lease had reached an impasse, citing money the club owes the city and unmet contractual obligations.
As a result, the city is only making Starlight Stadium available to Pacific FC on a game-by-game basis for the upcoming season, and only then if the stadium fee is paid at least two weeks in advance of each game.
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