Tigers land parachute bonus

HULL CITY were last night thrown a financial lifeline after the Football League chairmen voted in favour of a proposal to increase the parachute payments for clubs relegated from the top flight to £48m.

The new payments represent a 50 per cent rise on the current package whereby each club demoted at the end of the

2008-09 season are due to receive two payments of 16m.

And, crucially for the cash-strapped Tigers, the new rules – approved at a meeting of the Football League chairmen in Walsall – will come into place at the start of next season, meaning the Yorkshire club will benefit along with Burnley and Portsmouth.

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The news of the increased payments will come as a huge relief to owner Russell Bartlett as he attempts to keep City out of administration by negotiating with creditors and lenders to restructure the club's 35m debts.

It is understood by the Yorkshire Post that Hull have already borrowed 10m from the banks to meet month-to-month running costs and used the first 16m parachute payment, which is not due to be paid until August 14, as collateral.

League One and Two clubs had initially blocked the proposed change at a meeting of chairmen 11 days ago only to be subsequently told by the Premier League that it was a take-it-or-leave-it offer.

A Football League spokesman admitted after yesterday's meeting that many clubs had expressed fears about the changes.

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It is understood smaller clubs fear increased money going to the Championship will widen the gap with Leagues One and Two.

The spokesman said: "Following what was a frank but constructive meeting, Football League clubs have voted to accept the Premier League's revised solidarity and parachute payments proposals.

"Whilst many clubs expressed concerns about the proposals, their acceptance was considered the only viable way forward.

"The Football League will now work in good faith with the Premier League to ensure that the resulting contract and regulatory changes are good for both competitions and football as a whole."

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The new revised parachute payments for relegated clubs amount to 16m for each of the first two seasons and 8m for each of the next two.

Clubs in the Championship who do not get parachute payments will now receive 2.3m a season, League One sides 325,000 and League Two sides 250,000.

Under the current package, Championship sides received between 0.75m and 1.4m.

In Yorkshire, Hull are not the only beneficiaries with newly-promoted Leeds looking forward to the biggest boost to their income while Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers and Sheffield United will also benefit.

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In contrast, relegation to the third tier will leave Sheffield Wednesday facing a cut in their revenue from the League.

The Premier League were keen to push through the changes to satisfy a number of mid-ranking top-flight clubs who fear relegation is having an increasingly devastating financial effect.

Clubs such as Leeds, Southampton, Charlton and Norwich have all experienced financial problems since slipping out of the Premier League with all four having competed in the third tier this season.

Less happy news for Hull yesterday came with the Football Association revealing they are looking into the skirmishes between rival fans that marred the end of Sunday's home game against Liverpool.

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Supporters could be seen throwing objects at each other in the corner of the KC Stadium.

The missile-throwing came after hundreds of home fans had rushed on to the field at the final whistle.

Television footage showed that several of the pitch invaders surrounded Steven Gerrard with many choosing to good-naturedly pat the England midfielder on the back.

At one stage, however, Gerrard was seen angrily pushing away one Hull fan and the FA have confirmed they will study reports from club officials and the match delegate who was at the game.

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The FA, who are also investigating trouble that broke out at the end of Burton Albion's 3-0 League Two victory over Grimsby Town on Saturday, will also request information from Hull before deciding on their next course of action.

Meanwhile, Burnley's hopes of competing in next season's Europa League have been dashed.

The Lancashire club, relegated with Hull, were hoping to earn a place in the competition via the Fair Play League.

England was one of the three candidates but Sweden, Denmark and Finland have been given the nod.