BURY HAVE been kicked out of the last chance saloon after the EFL refused to back down on their decision to kick the out of the league.
The ruling body have made it clear that they will not consider a £7million offer by SJ Global to buy the Gigg Lane club from owner Steve Dale.
The Shakers’ 134 year history effectively ended in mid – afternoon leaving those trying to broker a new deal – and the club’s fans – devastated.
The EFL could now face the possibility of a High Court injunction by the group – led by sports lawyer Chris Farnell – that believed SJ Global should be given the chance to run the League One club.
Farnell declared : “I cannot understand why the EFL have taken this course of action.
“SJ Global are major players in commerce, they have the money and above all they have the will to make Bury a success.”
The EFL hierarchy met from noon on Thursday amidst hopes that they might back down on their decision of Tuesday night to expel the club.
But EFL chief Debbie Jevons had warned that there could be no reprieve.
That warning has now been backed up and following the last-ditch bid by SJG, the Shakers become the first club since Maidstone in 1992 to be expelled from the league.
Farnell insists Bury should still be alive and that owner Steve Dale had accepted the deal.
BURY have been expelled from the EFL but an appeal is likely to be launched.
If the Shakers’ expulsion is upheld, it would leave League One down to 23 teams and affect promotion and relegations in two division.
He revealed all SJ Global were trying to do in communication with the EFL was to ascertain the best way to ensure the fastest and best way of transferring funds to complete the takeover.
SJ Global has offices around the world and is mainly owned by a Brazilian.
The offer to buy Bury came in late on Monday and the EFL were immediately contacted by Farnell who in discussions with them, he says, made it clear it appeared to meet all financial criteria.
BURY FC’s heartbroken fans were betrayed by a chancer and the league bosses who failed to check him out.
It is scandalous that the club’s sale went ahead before the EFL did due diligence on Steve Dale’s ability to run it.
A new regulator should be created to vet owners and ensure clubs’ viability.
Bury will rise again. We wish them luck.
For now, though, a club with a proud 125-year history is defunct and the heart has been torn out of a community.
