EFL suspends Bury’s season opener against MK Dons over funding issues
The Football League has barred Bury from starting the new season, suspending Saturday’s scheduled League One home match against MK Dons after the owner, Steve Dale, again failed to provide evidence that he has the money to pay the club’s debts and ensure it is able to field a team. The EFL had given Dale a deadline of 5pm on Monday to show “proof of funds” after he missed a previous deadline of last Thursday, which was accompanied by a threat of possible expulsion from the league .
Bolton Wanderers, who are in administration after a financial collapse under the owner, Ken Anderson, were also issued with a 5pm deadline to resolve how around £2m owed to former players will be paid by a consortium, Football Ventures, which is nearing completion of a takeover. Ultimately the Professional Footballers’ Association is understood to have agreed a loan to cover the outstanding wages for the consortium, which is paying unsecured creditors 35p for each £1 owed. The EFL, in its statement, declared itself satisfied with the information provided and cleared Bolton – “subject to the completion of formal documentation” – to start its League One season, on Saturday away at Wycombe Wanderers.
Both Bury and Bolton, near neighbours and rivals, face initial deductions of 12 points for entering insolvency proceedings – Dale succeeded in having a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) passed by sufficient unsecured creditors earlier this month to enable him to pay them 25p in the pound. However, having failed to provide “proof of funds” to the EFL before or shortly after his £1 takeover in December as required by the league’s rules, eight months later he has still not shown that he can fund approximately £1m to be paid under the CVA and a further £1m owed to “football creditors” – players, former managers, other clubs and agents – who must be paid in full.
The EFL regulations require clubs to show how they will be funded to ensure they complete a season’s fixtures and Dale has not provided that evidence either for Bury, who are under a player registration embargo.
At 10pm on Friday the EFL board agreed to extend Bury’s deadline to 12pm on Monday then during the day, allowed it to run further, until 5pm. However, in a statement issued at 9:43pm, the EFL board signalled that Dale had still not provided satisfactory information, its patience had run out and Bury would be prevented from starting the season.
“Following continued and comprehensive discussions with the ownership at Bury and other interested parties throughout Monday the EFL Board is not satisfied it has received the necessary evidence in regard to the outstanding information it requires that demonstrates how the Club will be funded moving forwards,” the statement said.
“As a result of not meeting Monday’s 5pm deadline, which had been extended on two previous occasions, the EFL Board feels it has been placed in an unenviable position and, regrettably, has opted to take the reluctant decision to suspend Saturday’s opening day fix
ture with MK Dons under the provision of EFL Regulation 28.2.
“In addition the EFL Board, if not in possession of the necessary evidence by 12pm on Friday 2 August 2019, will make a determination as to whether to suspend Bury’s away fixture at Accrington Stanley on Saturday 10 August 2019.
“As has been the case throughout this entire process, the EFL will continue to offer its full assistance to the ownership at Bury, but remains clear that while the League is here to support the Club through some extremely complex and complicated issues, the outstanding matters can be resolved only with the cooperation from the Club itself.”
Dale bought Bury for £1 in December from the previous owner, Stewart Day, who had taken out loans secured on the Gigg Lane ground, strengthened the squad and run the club at a loss, but whose property businesses were on the brink of financial collapse. However Dale, whose business has involved selling the assets of companies falling into insolvency, never provided the EFL with proof that he had the necessary money and in May the players who won promotion revealed that they had not been paid since February.