Administration could happen – Broughton

Liverpool chairman Martin Brough­ton admits the club could end up in administration if the increasingly bitter battle to take over the Reds isn’t resolved in his favour this week.

The future of the Premier League outfit will be decided in the High Court on Tuesday as Broughton battles with the club’s American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks over the proposed sale of the club to New England Sports Ventures (NESV).

Broughton has set up a 300-million-pounds sale to NESV, who own the Boston Red Sox baseball team, but Hicks and Gillett are not happy with the price and are now taking the issue to court.

If Hicks and Gillett win their case, then Broughton says the club could very well go into administration as the club’s main financial backers, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), are due to call in their debt of £280 million on October 15.

Should RBS call in their debts, then that would see Liverpool enter administration which would also see a nine-point deduction in the Premier League.

“It (administration) could happen, yes,” Broughton said.

“This is all part of why it is important that we made the decision on Tuesday to accept one or the other of the two very acceptable bids. Heading for administration was a very likely outcome if we didn’t.”

Broughton admits administration would be a major blow to his bid to sell the club for a fair price, as well as hindering the team’s hopes of avoiding relegation.

“Going into administration needs to be avoided at all costs, as the negative impact would be catastrophic,” he said.