Ex-Vancouver FC Head Coach Afshin Ghotbi Files Lawsuit Over Loan Repayment, SixFive Fires Back

Vancouver FC owner SixFive Sports & Entertainment is facing a lawsuit from former VFC head coach Afshin Ghotbi.

The litigation comes via a Notice of Civil Claim filed by Ghotbi to the Supreme Court of British Columbia on December 4, with the complaint alleging the former Vancouver FC boss has been left out in the cold regarding a $500,000 loan and terms of interest.

Ghotbi is seeking $715,879.45 to cover the amount owing for his loan plus interest, in addition to damages for breach of contract, misrepresentation, general and special damages, interim and permanent injunctive relief preventing the defendants from dealing with their assets and requiring them to provide a list of assets, and punitive and aggravated damages, amongst other things.

SixFive director Dean Shillington, who is named directly in the complaint, has offered us this in response:

“I categorically disagree with the allegations asserted against me personally. SixFive will shortly file its Response to Civil Claim, which will set out the relevant facts and contractual framework,” says Shillington, who describes that he is ‘disappointed by how Mr. Ghotbi has unnecessarily escalated this matter’.

Ghotbi had been named the club’s first-ever head coach on November 2, 2022 through a connection with VFC President and CEO Rob Friend and remained at his post for two-and-a-half seasons until his firing on July 23, 2025, departing with a 15W-14D-29L record.

According to the complaint, midway through the club’s inaugural season in July 2023, Rob Friend – who is also a director of SixFive Sports and Entertainment – allegedly informed Ghotbi that the club was facing cash-flow difficulties. The claim states that Ghotbi was asked whether he could provide financial assistance and, following discussions with SixFive director Dean Shillington, the head coach agreed to enter into a loan agreement on July 13, 2023, in the amount of $500,000.

The claim further alleges that SixFive agreed to repay the loan by July 14, 2024 with an interest rate of 12% per annum. It states that the loan was secured by a security interest over all of SixFive’s present and after-acquired personal property, including all real and personal assets, whether moveable or immovable, existing at the time or acquired in the future.

The claim also alleges that the loan agreement contained express representations that the collateral provided was genuine, legally and beneficially owned by SixFive, and free from any existing security interests or encumbrances.

That last stipulation would prove to be a key point of contention in the complaint, which states that the former Vancouver FC boss would not have proceeded with the loan had the agreement not contained this representation, or had he believed his security interest was subordinate to other creditors.

When the original repayment date of July 2024 approached, the complaint alleges that Ghotbi reached out to Shillington regarding his payment of the loan plus interest. Shillington reportedly requested an extension, stating that Vancouver FC needed the funds at present, but offered that the loan agreement now bear an interest rate of 20% instead of 12% until repayment, amongst other things. Ghotbi agreed to these terms.

Ghotbi’s eventual sacking of the club would come a year later. With his coaching relationship with the club now over, the complaint says he requested that Dean Shillington repay the loan plus interest, but was then informed that his security interest was subordinate to other secured creditors – something which came as a surprise to the head coach.

Ghotbi then says he searched the British Columbia Personal Property Registry and discovered two undisclosed security interests registered in the month prior to his loan by entities controlled by Shillington through both Knightsbridge Capital and KAPX Finance.

By the time October hit, the complaint alleges that Ghotbi once again demanded repayment of his $500,000 loan plus interest and communicated his belief that SixFive Sports & Entertainment had misrepresented the securities. Ghotbi’s complaint says that one week after this communication, Shillington told him that SixFive could not repay the loan plus interest as they were actively pursuing the sale of its primary assets – they also own the up-for-sale Pacific FC – so SixFive was subject to multiple senior secured charges ranking in priority to Ghotbi’s own secured interest.

A key point in the complaint submitted to the Supreme Court of British Columbia claims given Dean Shillington is a director with KAPX, Knightsbridge Capital, and SixFive Sports & Entertainment, the defendants knew or reasonably ought to have known the security interest promised to Ghotbi was subordinate to Shillington’s own security interests.

The complaint also stipulates that at the time it made the repayment representation to Ghotbi, the defendants knew or reasonably ought to have known that they did not intend to repay the loan plus interest on demand.

SixFive Sports & Entertainment released a statement to the Northern Tribune stating that early media reports of the claim were inaccurate and mischaracterized the commercial loan made by Mr. Ghotbi.

“SixFive disagrees with the allegations and claims asserted by Mr. Ghotbi in the action, and will soon file a Response to Civil Claim,” reads a company statement sent to Northern Tribune. “We will not litigate Mr. Ghotbi’s claim in the media, and we will proceed with the usual Court process to establish the facts and applicable law regarding the loan.

The statement also notes that club operations are continuing as normal and that the matter has no impact on the ongoing management of business or SixFive’s investments in Canadian soccer.

While Vancouver FC finished last in league standings, the club will soon be embarking on its first-ever continental cup campaign after qualifying for the Concacaf Champions Cup as the Canadian Championship runner-up. Following that success, we have confirmed that head coach Martin Nash – Ghotbi’s successor – has earned an extension with the side.

Canadian Premier League Senior Director of Communications Laura Armstrong has also told us that the court matter will not effect the operations of Vancouver FC or Pacific FC, and that the league is well aware of the matter. As it is before the court, however, the league will not speak regarding the details of the claim.

With SixFive Sports & Entertainment queuing up its formal response to the complaint, sports fans will soon see both sides of the coin. While what unfolds next remains to be seen, we’re guessing that we won’t see any CPL clubs taking on loans from their head coaches for the foreseeable future.

Header Image Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League