Brian Hillier

Brian Hillier (1943 – 23 October 2008) was a football chairman most notable for being chairman of

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

. A lifelong Swindon Town supporter, he became chairman of the club in 1984 when they were in the

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier ...

- the lowest division of the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. He appointed legendary

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

striker

Lou Macari Luigi Macari (born 7 June 1949) is a Scottish former footballer and manager. He began his playing career at Celtic where he was one of the Quality Street Gang, the outstanding reserve team that emerged in the late 1960s that also included Kenn ...

as player-manager and in 1986 Swindon Town won promotion from the Fourth Division as champions with a then national league record of 102 points. In 1987 a second successive promotion took Hillier's team into the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

, where they had not played for more than a decade previously. However, Hillier was arrested on suspicion of defrauding the

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...

in January 1990 and was also suspected of placing a bet against his own team losing an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

tie in the 1987-88 season. His team won promotion to the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

(top division of English football) four months later but shortly afterwards were found guilty on 36 charges of financial irregularities. This resulted in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

being promoted in their place, and Swindon Town being relegated to the

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 Football League, 1920–21 and again from 1958–59 Football League, 1958 until 1991–92 Football League, 1992. When the FA Premier League ...

with their place in the Second Division going to

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

. The club won some respite when they were reinstated to the Second Division on appeal, a decision that infuriated Tranmere Rovers. Meanwhile, Hillier was forced to leave Swindon Town after receiving a six-month ban from football as penalty for the illegal bet. He, along with chief accountant Vince Farrar and former manager

were committed for trial at

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

. On 29 July 1992, Macari was cleared of tax offences but Hillier and Farrar were both found guilty. Hillier received a one-year prison sentenced (later halved on appeal) and Farrar received a suspended six-month prison sentence. Hillier's ban from football was increased to three years. After his ban from football expired, Hillier returned to the game as chairman of non-league Calne Town (members of the

Western Football League The Western Football League is a association football, football league in South West England, covering Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, western Dorset, parts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. The league's current main sponsor is Jewson, so it ...

). He remained in this position until his death from a stroke in October 2008, at the age of 65.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillier, Brian English football chairmen and investors Swindon Town F.C. 1943 births 2008 deaths 20th-century English businesspeople