Everton have been threatened with a lawsuit by the organisers of Indonesian pre-season tournament the Java Cup.
The Merseyside club withdrew from the competition after their scheduled opponents Galatasaray pulled out, refusing to travel to the capital city of Jakarta.
Widja Widjajanto, CEO of organises Liga Prima Indonesia Sportindo (LPIS), claims to have received assurances that David Moyes's side would participate in the event despite the withdrawal of their Turkish opponents.
"As of [Tuesday] night, we were still discussing with Everton and we didn't have any impression that they would pull out," he said. "But suddenly, on their website, they announced their withdrawal.
"We will take legal action as we've already made full payment to them.
"They are lying if they said they did not know the opponent in the tournament because in the contract Everton agreed to come regardless whoever they would play."
LPIS have already appointed a lawyer to take action against both Everton and Galatasaray. Everton allegedly failed to respond to a request for their payment to be returned, and could now face court action.
The two teams were due to play in the Jakarta tournament alongside an Indonesian XI and Malaysian XI between July 26 and July 29.
Mark Langshaw
