Portsmouth chairman Sulaiman Al Fahim has cast doubt on the club's chances of getting their transfer embargo lifted.

Al-Fahim, the non-executive chairman, last month publicly backed the owner Ali al-Faraj's ability to lift the embargo but has now altered his view.

He told the Guardian: "I would like to apologise for saying publicly last month that I was confident the transfer embargo would be lifted. I said this in good faith. As the embargo is still in place, then it seems there is still an ongoing issue. Avram Grant needs this situation clarified one way or another as we are now less than a month away from the January transfer window."

Although Ali Al Faraj has yet to visit the club he bought in October, Fahim challenged the Saudi to meet him to discuss Portsmouth's future.

"I have never met al-Faraj and I am ready to invite him to the UAE as my guest or I will go and meet him in Saudi Arabia, if he doesn't have time to come to the UK," he said. "As a chairman and shareholder I want to know who is he and what plans he has for the club."