Portsmouth enter administration
Nine-point deduction means almost certain relegation
Portsmouth traded their short-term Premier League status for the hope of long-term survival when they went into administration yesterday.
The debt-ridden south-coast club had been due back in the High Court next week to face an adjourned winding-up order from the British government's Revenue and Customs department.
That hearing could have led to the closure of the 112-year-old club but they will now continue in some form.
In a hearing earlier this month, Portsmouth had been given time to secure new funding or a new owner but they failed on both fronts and instead became the first Premier League club to go into administration.
Already seven points adrift at the bottom of the league, they will now suffer an automatic nine-point deduction, almost certainly condemning them to relegation.
Portsmouth have raised almost £100 million in player sales since they won the FA Cup in 2008 but are still some £70 million in debt.
Portsmouth's latest owner Balram Chainrai, their fifth in a year, took the decision to go into administration on Thursday after talks with four interested groups failed to find an agreement for a takeover.
Administrator Andrew Andronikou, of insolvency experts UHY Hacker Young, will now set about investigating the club's finances and paying debtors.
The club's players trained as normal yesterday ahead of today's league game at Burnley.
Also yesterday, another south-coast club, League Two promotion candidates Bournemouth, were issued with a High Court winding-up order after they too failed to pay a Customs and Revenue debt.