• Premier League clubs ‘must take responsibility’, says Gold
• ‘We have allowed Portsmouth to get into this mess’
West Ham’s co-owner David Gold has claimed the Premier League “must take responsibility” and ensure Portsmouth do not go out of business.
Last Wednesday Portsmouth were granted extra time to fight a winding-up petition from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. The Premier League’s bottom club were given seven days to produce a statement of affairs to HMRC to detail their exact financial position.
HMRC claim Pompey owe them more than £11m in total. A figure of £7.4m of VAT is included in the winding-up petition, which Portsmouth are disputing. The former owner Alexandre Gaydamak claims to be owed £28m and the ex-Portsmouth defender Sol Campbell is suing for £1.7m.
If Portsmouth were closed down, the Premier League would be reduced to 19 teams and their results would be wiped out, giving the table a new look.
“Anything that impacts on the integrity of the Premier League has to be addressed and if a club go bust, all the points are wiped out, giving an advantage to some clubs and a disadvantage to others,” Gold told the Mail on Sunday.
“That can’t be right. For that reason, you have an obligation to save a football club. We have allowed Portsmouth to get into this mess. The brand is 20 Premier League football clubs. We must take responsibility.”
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