Bolton fans ordered to stay away
...and crisis club face winding-up order today
Bolton have been ordered to play their next two Championship matches behind closed doors because of safety fears.
the troubled club were hit with a prohibition notice by a local Safety Advisory Group banning fans from entering games. Matchday staff are refusing to work until they have been paid wages — meaning the University of Bolton Stadium is now not deemed safe to host matches.
Bolton host Ipswich town on Saturday and Middlesbrough next tuesday. the club’s crisis could deepen today when they face entering administration in the High Court.
BOLTON must play their next two home matches behind closed doors as their financial turmoil took another embarassing turn last night.
The club were hit with a prohibition notice banning fans from attending games over safety concerns, hours before they face the possibility of entering administration in the High Court today.
Match-day staff are refusing to work until they have been paid wages that are late in arriving — meaning the University of Bolton Stadium is now deemed unsafe to host matches. In an unprecedented move for English football, Bolton face playing Championship games against Ipswich Town on Saturday and Middlesbrough on Tuesday in an empty ground.
EFL rules prohibit matches being played behind closed doors unless there are disciplinary reasons — but that may be relaxed to allow Bolton to fulfil their four remaining home fixtures.
The decision to issue a prohibition notice was taken by the local authority’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG).
The club confirmed that they would not be able to commit to the conditions of their stadium safety certificate until after their appearance at the High Court today. SAG members unanimously agreed that would be too short a timeframe to put an operation in place to protect spectators at the next two games.
A spokesperson for SAG said: ‘ Every effort has been made to give the club enough time to put adequate operation standards in place, but regrettably the law gives us no alternative but to issue a prohibition notice.
‘Safety and security remain our primary concern and we are not prepared to put the public at risk.’ The EFL expressed regret and said they were ‘engaged with the club in regard to how they intend to meet their fixture obligations’.
Bolton face a winding-up petition at the High Court today over an unpaid £1.2m tax bill and other debts. They were given a two-week reprieve on March 20, after promising the court that a new buyer who would be able to pay their bills was close to taking over the club.
Last night, a company set up earlier this year claimed they had the funds in place for a takeover and that they were in a position to complete a deal ‘within 48 hours’. A spokesman for Gaspard Holdings, based in Bolton but with links to the Middle East, told local media they were the only interested buyer and were ironing out final details.
Earlier this week, the club’s players went on a 48-hour strike in solidarity with staff after wages due to be paid on Friday did not materialise.
Yesterday, in his column on the club’s website published before news of the prohibition order broke, owner Ken Anderson made no mention of the club’s finances until the fourth paragraph of a bizarre tirade.