No Government bail-out for clubs

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell today resisted calls from some clubs for the Government to bail football out if ITV Digital administrators pull the plug on the struggling channel.

Asked whether the Government would put together a rescue package to stop clubs going out of business, she said: "No we're not. The finances of many football clubs have been unstable for a very long time.

"The next ITV Digital payment was not due until August, so for clubs facing problems now, these are problems that have been incurred by, in most cases, paying more in wages than clubs can afford."

When it was suggested that clubs had brought financial problems on themselves by spending too much TV money on expensive players she replied: "To a certain extent, yes. But this isn't the day to start throwing blame around. The focus today has to be on securing continued negotiation between the administrators and the Football League.

"I think everyone in football recognises this is a great opportunity for everybody to look at a long-term restructuring of the game's finances."

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