Cork City live to fight another day

Soccer:Cork City live to fight another day after the League of Ireland club were able to pay their outstanding tax bill of €219,000 in full before today's 5pm deadline set by the High Court last Friday.

“Cork City FC is pleased to confirm that, as per the commitment made in the High Court on Friday last, it has settled its outstanding tax liability with the revenue commissioners in full. The club will issue a more detailed statement in due course,” today’s brief statement read on the club’s website www.corkcityfc.ie.

For weeks now the Leesiders have been running the financial gauntlet and faced the very real prospect winding up, but today’s news ensures their survival, in the short term at least.

Last week the club paid €220,000 of and outstanding €439,000 bill owed to the revenue commissioners and were given today’s deadline to clear the remainder of the debt.

Today's payment paves the way for the High Court to quash the winding-up order on the club at tomorrow morning's hearing.

The club’s owner, Tom Coughlan, last week insisted the funds had been raised by him and his advisers, partly against the anticipated revenue from the Celtic game.

Coughlan then said he must come up with a more “sustainable model” to run the club and that process would address everything “root and branch” within the club and would begin immediately.

The issue of unpaid wages appears to be one of the problem areas with approximately €130,000 due to squad members for the past five weeks. It is understood Coughlan will try to introduce wage cuts of at least 30 per cent.

After last week’s High Court ruling PFAI general secretary Stephen McGuinness expressed

concerns over the lengh of time players have gone without being paid.

He said: “It looks like the lads are not going to be paid for more than five weeks and I’m really not sure how long they can keep going on that basis.”

As if rubbing salt into the wounds the club will also have to pay the costs incurred by the four-month legal saga.