Former manager Sol Campbell supports petition for Macclesfield to be wound up

Former Macclesfield manager Sol Campbell wants the club to be wound up because debts have not been paid, a judge has heard.

Judge Catherine Addy was told on Wednesday that Macclesfield bosses owed a “very large” amount of tax and owed Campbell more than £180,000.

Tax officials have asked for the club to be wound up and Campbell supported that application, lawyers told Judge Addy.

The judge was given updates on the League Two football club’s debt problems at a hearing in the specialist Insolvency and Companies Court in London.

She said Macclesfield bosses should get time to clear debts and said the case would be reconsidered on December 18.

Barrister Raj Arumugam, who represented HM Revenue and Customs, asked the judge to make a winding up order.

He did not say how much tax Macclesfield owed but the judge said the sum was “very large”.

Barrister Philip Currie, who represented Campbell, said Macclesfield owed his client about £182,000. He said Campbell also wanted the club to be wound up.

Campbell was appointed by Macclesfield in November 2018 but left by mutual consent in August of this year. He took over at Southend – also the subject of a winding-up petition on Wednesday – in October.

Barrister Sam Hodge, who represented Macclesfield, told of money transaction difficulties.

He said there had been issues moving “large sums” from a director’s account in Spain. Mr Hodge said a payment made to HM Revenue & Customs had “bounced back”.

The judge adjourned the case for two weeks and said if “banking transaction problems” continued she wanted them to be explained in detail in writing.

The Cheshire club were charged by the EFL with misconduct last month over their failure to pay players.

Their case was referred to an independent disciplinary commission which has the power to impose “a full range of sanctions” if the club are found guilty.

Macclesfield have become the latest EFL club to experience financial difficulties, with Bury being expelled from the league in August and Bolton only surviving thanks to a last-ditch takeover. Campbell’s current club Southend were also the subject of a winding-up petition on Wednesday.

The EFL said on November 12 that wages from July to September had been paid from solidarity and basic award payments.

It was reported on Monday that players had threatened to go on strike for Saturday’s league game against Crewe if the latest wages were not paid.

The first team followed through on a strike threat last month, forcing the club to field youth team players in an FA Cup tie against Kingstonian.