Sheffield Wednesday faces winding-up order over unpaid tax bill

The club owes about 500,000 after struggling to pay its tax bill following relegation to football's third tier in May. A winding up petition was served into the court by HMRC on June 28.

Failure to pay the bill could result in the club facing administration but last night Wednesday chief executive Nick Parker was adamant the money would be found before August 11.

Mr Parker said HMRC was looking to "make an example" of Wednesday as it gets tough with football clubs after a series of highly-publicised cases involving large, unpaid tax bills.

Wednesday have virtually run out of cash during the close season and had to call on extra support from the club's bank, the Co-operative, to stay afloat.

Mr Parker said the club decided not to pay its tax bill on time, in agreement with its bank.

"As part of our ongoing pressure on cash flow, we have decided to adopt the same approach as other clubs to HMRC. A consequence of this has been this court order which is similar to those received by Preston, Cardiff and many other clubs."

HMRC said it did not comment on individual cases.

Under Football League rules, the Owls are set to be hit by a transfer embargo as a result of the winding up petition but the club has already signed eight new players during the summer and is unlikely to be greatly affected.

Wednesday's total debts were 25m when the club produced its last set of accounts, with 20m owed to the bank.