Premier League reject Portsmouth player sale plan

Crisis club Portsmouth had their plans to sell players outside of the transfer windows rejected by the English Premier League on Saturday.

Portsmouth, seven points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League table, have debts of over 60 million pounds (93 million dollars).

They also face a winding-up order from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over an alleged unpaid tax bill at a court hearing early in March that could see the south coast club go out of business.

This season’s last transfer window closed at the start of this month and Pompey had sought special dispensation from Premier League chiefs to sell players now in a bid to ease their debts.

But Premier League chiefs rejected the proposal, saying in a statement issued Saturday: “The Premier League board can confirm they have been actively considering a request from Portsmouth to transfer players outside of the transfer window.

“We are grateful for positive assistance from FIFA (football’s world governing body) and the FA (England’s Football Association) but, having given the matter further consideration and taking into account all factors, the Premier League board have decided that this would not be an appropriate course of action at this time.”

Portsmouth manager Avram Grant, who saw the 2008 FA Cup winners beat bitter south coast rivals Southampton last week to advance to the quarter-finals of this season’s competition, was never a fan of losing players from an already stretched squad, saying: “I don’t even want to talk about this because I came to this club to do something.

“But every week, or every day sometimes, there is a new thing and I don’t know whether these things are sad or funny sometimes.”

But the Israeli, speaking before the Premier League’s rejection of the plan, lauded the club’s ingenuity in trying to stave off financial collapse.

“We got a good result against Southampton and I thought nothing could happen now because there is no transfer window,” Grant said. “You cannot say there is no creativity at this club.”

Pompey have lurched from one problem to another during the last seven months as four different owners failed to ease the cash crisis at Fratton Park.

Their battle against relegation continues at home to Stoke on Saturday.