SPL 'won't bail out Hearts' - report

A view of the Hearts’ stadium.

The Scottish Premier League (SPL) has told Hearts that it will not receive a bail-out, after they were forced to put their entire squad up for sale to offset crippling financial problems, a report said on Friday.

SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster was quoted as saying by Britain’s domestic Press Association news agency that the league will not be able to give the Edinburgh club a crisis loan.

“It’s always disappointing when any SPL club faces financial stresses. We are continuing to monitor the situation very closely and we will see what arises,” Doncaster said.

“The SPL has very clear rules about what fees are provided to clubs and when. Those rules are absolutely being complied with.

“There is no slush fund that exists to loan extra money to any one club. The fees are divided up between all of the 12 clubs according to the rules.

“It is very difficult to favour any one club over any other and the rules are therefore very clear about what we can and can’t do.”

The Jambos, reportedly £15 million ($23.5 million, 17.6 million euro) in debt and hit by the liquidation in Lithuania of a company formerly controlled by its majority shareholder, announced on Thursday that it would consider offers for all of its players to help meet urgent payments.

The SPL has hired lawyers in the Baltic state to monitor the insolvency situation with Ukio Banko Investicine Group (UBIG), which was formerly owned by Vladimir Romanov, who still controls 50 percent of Hearts’ shares.

Hearts are also facing the threat of a winding-up order over a £100,000 tax bill, despite most of the money owed having been repaid.