Soccer-Interest in Jets is personal, says Dundee Utd chairman

SYDNEY, May 21 (Reuters) - The chairman of Dundee United has said that any potential bid for the licence to run beleaguered Australian side Newcastle Jets would be a personal initiative and not one linked to the Scottish Premiership club. Football Federation Australia (FFA) revoked the licence of the Jets' owners Hunter Sports Group on Wednesday after their owner Nathan Tinkler placed the club into voluntary administration. Tinkler, who had failed to pay wages to the club's playing and administration staff as it racked up more than A$2.7 million ($2.13 million) in debts, told Australian media he was in negotiations to sell the club to Dundee United. The Scottish Premiership club later denied it was involved though said their chairman, Stephen Thompson, had been interested in a personal capacity as part of an investment group, something he reiterated later. "It's not unusual for football club board members to have other business interests and I'm no different," he said in a statement on his side's website on Wednesday. "There are confidentiality agreements in place regarding the situation in Australia that stop me going into further detail. "Whether or not I pursue opportunities in Australia, I clearly have a major emotional tie here ... I want to make it clear that my priority first and foremost is to Dundee United as chairman and a supporter of the club." The move by the FFA to revoke the licence of HSG, however, could scupper any agreement that Thompson had been working on with Tinkler to buy the club, with the FFA stating on Wednesday the licence would be transferred to a new entity. Tinkler, the former mining magnate who has lost a fortune because of a slump in coal prices, had clashed with the FFA on many occasions over his running of the club. The Jets finished bottom of the 10-team A-League in the recently concluded season with three wins from 27 matches. ($1 = 1.2694 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington; Editing by Peter Rutherford)