Liverpool To Escape Points Deduction

Liverpool FC are likely to avoid a Premier League points deductions even if the Royal Bank of Scotland takes over the club. The Reds face the very real possibility the bank could grab control by the middle of this month if American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett fail to pay the £237m debt. Some football legal experts have predicted that Kop Holdings, which owns LFC, would automatically be placed into administration. But the ECHO understands the Premier League would not view that move as Liverpool being declared insolvent. Regular discussions have been taking place between Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton and league chief executive Richard Scudamore. The Reds have been seeking clarification on the potential scenario if RBS took temporary charge at Anfield. Sources have indicated a nine point deduction, threatened to football clubs when they go bust like Portsmouth last season, would not materialise. League chiefs crucially consider the debt to rest squarely on the shoulders of Tom Hicks and George Gillett, co-chairmen of the club and owners of Kop Football Holdings. And as Liverpool has proved they have steady revenues - TV rights money, ticket sales, sponsorship - the club would avoid incurring any penalty. The Reds reported a £200m turnover for the first time during the last 12 months, a significant rise compared to previous financial years and Anfield bosses insist the club remains highly profitable. Lawyers closely watching the process, meanwhile, disagree over the possible outcomes and acknowledge the Reds are entering previously unchartered legal territory for the Premier League. One urged caution citing the example of Southampton who were docked league points after claims that their parent company, and not the club, had gone bust, were dismissed by the Football League. But a source familiar with the process told the ECHO: "A deal's been done to make sure those nine points aren't deducted from Liverpool. "It's not actually the football club that goes into administration, it's the holding company. "If it's only the holding company that goes under, that's when they've got clearance. The deal has been done between the club and the Premier League. "The whole point of the points deduction is that it's unfair if the company goes under they abandon loads of creditors and start again so they are in a beneficial position compared to other football clubs. "In this instance I suppose, what they would be arguing is that there aren't abandoning their creditors because their only creditors are just the bank, RBS, and they'll get paid out anyway." Steve Horner, however, of Liverpool FC campaign group Kop Faithful, said the prospect of a nine-point deduction would not worry him if it meant getting rid of Hicks and Gillett. The surveyor added: "We just want them to go. Their ownership period has been disastrous for the long-term future of Liverpool."