"Stick it up your a**e" - Elgin City Football Club director Stephen Scott resigns and withdraws record sponsorship deal after claiming fellow board member told him where to put his funding

An Elgin City director has resigned and withdrawn a record sponsorship deal after claiming a fellow board member said he could stick his money "up his a**e" in an email where he had been accidentally copied in.

Gleaner Oils owner Stephen Scott told how he read the abusive email, allegedly sent between fellow directors on Friday, triggering his decision to quit his role at the club and pull out his money "with a heavy heart".

The businessman, a lifelong supporter of the SPFL club, said he contacted the sender of the message who claimed they didn't send the email and "had been hacked".

Mr Scott said it was one of the proudest days of his life when he joined the board of his home town club in 2019, having been a Black and Whites fan since the 1960s.

"On Friday I was copied in to a highly abusive email to other directors, suggesting amongst other things that I should “stick (my) sponsorship up (my) a**e”," he revealed.

"The person on the Board of the Club from whose account that email emanated has been at pains to claim that he had been hacked, but nonetheless – whilst I am no snowflake – there are limits.

"I was left to feel that I had no option but to resign."

Elgin City announced what is believed to be a record sponsorship deal worth a six-figure sum in April. Long-time backers McDonald and Munro had extended their shirt sponsorship of the men's team while Gleaner would take up sponsorship of the recently founded Elgin City ladies' team.

Mr Scott owns the Gleaner Oils firm with his wife Jane, who he consulted before decided to withdraw their backing from the League 2 club.

"Further, after discussing with my wife and senior management at Gleaner we have decided to withdraw all of Gleaner’s sponsorship of the club," Mr Scott added.

"Where only weeks ago the Club were celebrating an offer made by Gleaner to become, I’m told, the Club’s biggest-ever sponsor we cannot continue with this offer as the terms of the email circulated on Friday do not reflect the way in which Gleaner does business.

"None of this will stop me from continuing to support the Club in the traditional manner, and I can only hope that fellow fans will understand the intolerable position in which I have been placed."

Elgin City recently appointed Isla Benzie as the club's first interim chairwoman following the resignation of previous chair Graham Tatters.

"I should add that I would rather have kept a lid on various recent internal happenings, out of respect for my good friend Graham Tatters (who, as already trailed, has had to step down for now as Chair, for family reasons).

"But, whilst I have deliberately not bothered Graham, I know that he would be the first to see my point of view following this latest escapade.

"I want to stress that despite my sadness I wish the club, and Isla as its interim Chairwoman, nothing but success in the seasons ahead."