Aston Villa Football Club have suspended chief executive Keith Wyness and face a threat of a winding-up order over a multimillion-pound tax bill that remains unpaid.
According to the BBC, the HM Revenue & Customs are in contact with the club and will allow them 48 hours to repay the tax bill, which is upwards of £4m. The club have separately confirmed that owner and chairman Dr Tony Xia will assume Wyness's position until further notice.
It has not been a good few weeks for the club, who failed to achieve promotion to the Premier League last month after a 1-0 loss against Fulham. Xia had previously told fans the club faces "severe" financial challenges due to financial fair play rules. He took control of the club in 2016 and set an aim of winning the Champions League within 10 years.
The club looks set to face the consequence of living beyond their means and gambling on a return to the top tier, although a short-term solution is expected. The decision to suspend Wyness is reportedly not directly linked to the oncoming tax bill.
With the club in desperate need of a cash injection, they are expected to sell several prized assets with Jack Grealish now likely to leave this summer.
