Taxpayers and the beautiful game

When Portsmouth go bust every one of us will feel it in our pockets. For we taxpayers, mysteriously, shall be almost the last people paid out by the “administrators”.

The Inland Revenue is expected to lose a significant proportion of the football club’s £7.5 million in back-taxes.

Footballing authorities created a scheme which allows the club to pay out the players first, then any unpaid transfer fees and only after that does the tax payer get a look-in.

This turns on its head conventional corporate arrangements in which, when it comes to bankruptcy, the taxpayer is first in line in the paying of creditors.

Indeed, according to the Telegraph the club’s present owner believes he’ll get his £17m loan back before anyone else gets anything.

Intriguingly two former ministers preside over the key elements of English football – Lord Mawhinney (former Tory minister) is chairman of the Football League; Lord Triesman (former Labour minister) is head of the FA.

So did they know of this arrangement? Did they bring it about or merely inherit it? When will English football club arrangements be brought into line with the rest of corporate Britain?

Or do we so love football that we simply don’t mind a few millions of our money being lost whenever they go bust?