Central Coast Mariners owner Damon Hanlin has slammed the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) over a governance failure, claiming he was a willing buyer for the club but was denied the chance to become the official owner. Hanlin, a former Sydney Olympic chairman, said he had been funding the club since September last year and had executed a binding contract of sale with the club's owner, Mike Charlesworth, to acquire 100% ownership of the club. However, the APL stripped Charlesworth of the Central Coast licence and will run and fund the club while it conducts a sales process with interested parties. Hanlin claimed that he had injected more than $2m into the Mariners to fund player wages and staff entitlements, operational and match-day expenses, payments to creditors and the employment of key football and operational personnel. He also claimed that all remaining creditors would be paid in full at the completion of the sale. The APL has rejected Hanlin's allegations, saying that it takes the process of considering new owners very seriously and follows a rigorous process. However, Hanlin has blamed the APL for the Mariners' debacle, saying that there was already a buyer and that the only missing element was the APL's own determination.