Football in brief: Pompey must make special plea to FA over FA Cup prize money

Tuesday 09 March 2010 01:00 GMT
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Portsmouth will have to make a special plea to the Football Association in order to be paid the FA Cup money earned from defeating Birmingham City in the quarter-finals.

Pompey earned £607,500 in winnings and broadcast fees following their 2-0 victory on Saturday. However, any club in administration must seek approval from the FA to keep the winnings. Their case will now be reviewed, and they will only receive the money if they have fulfilled their financial obligations to other clubs.

Pompey are currently bottom of the Premier League, with Avram Grant and his players preparing to host Birmingham tonight. Despite these problems, the club will play either Fulham or Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on the weekend of 10-11 April.

Debt-ridden Rangers begin discussions over possible takeover

The Scottish Champions have confirmed that their principal shareholder, Murray International Holdings, has begun discussions with the London-based property developer Andy Ellis about a possible takeover. Ellis failed in his attempt to buy Queen's Park Rangers in 2001. However, his consortium did purchase Northampton Town in in 2002. The Ibrox club are currently £31m in debt and under the financial control of Lloyds Banking Group. "The board of Rangers Football Club understands that discussions are at an early stage," a club statement read. "At the moment there can be no certainty that any offer will be made for the issued shares of RFC." An independent committee of the board – including former legend John Greig – has been set up to consider any offer for the club.

Triesman: English clubs, and even United, could make fan power work

FA Chairman Lord Triesman believes that a fan-run club, something the Red Knights are attempting to achieve at Manchester United, could work in England. Triesman does not question the Glazer family's ability to deal with the financial situation at United, but says the Red Knights' campaign is a sign fans are concerned about the situation. He said: "There are some good fan-run clubs and there have been in England too. There have been some clubs in difficulties where the fans have been the decisive factor, such as York City and Bournemouth. All fans are concerned about the well-being of their clubs. I am really not saying Manchester United cannot deal with its overall financial arrangements, but, of course, fans do take a view about whether their club is all right."

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