The English Football League (EFL) could not have saved Bury FC from collapse, according to a review of the league's actions.
The independent report into the demise of the club concluded that the EFL “spent significant time and effort monitoring the situation” and said “any additional action would not have made any difference to the eventual outcome”.
The club’s league membership was withdrawn in August last year after they failed to provide financial guarantees for the year ahead.
The EFL’s handling of the matter had been criticised by the former chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee Damian Collins.
The EFL said the report, written by Jonathan Taylor QC, did not include recommendations for changes to EFL regulations in its terms of reference, but that a number of observations about potential changes suggested by Taylor could feed into ongoing reviews of cost control measures – the profit and sustainability (P&S) rules in the Sky Bet Championship and the salary cost management protocol (SCMP) in League One and Two.
Specific changes to those regulations are expected to be brought forward for ratification at the EFL’s annual general meeting in June.
An independent governance review, also led by Taylor, recommended the introduction of three independent directors to the EFL board, with specific responsibility for member clubs.
After careful consideration, the EFL said its board decided not to support any change to the composition of the board and that clubs had endorsed that position at Thursday’s clubs meeting.
