Championship strugglers Bolton Wanderers have been served with a winding-up petition from Her Majesty s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over unpaid PAYE and VAT in November.
Bolton have racked up huge debts since falling out of the Premier League in 2012 and announced a deficit of £172.9million in April of this year.
The Lancashire club s crisis deepened when players failed to receive wages on time for November.
Bolton have now fallen foul of HMRC, with a club statement reading: Bolton Wanderers can confirm that the club has now received a winding-up petition from HMRC in respect of unpaid PAYE and VAT for the month of November.
Despite requests from the club to HMRC to give it further time to either conclude a sale or raise additional funds, HMRC has proceeded with due process and duly served a petition.
Trevor Birch, an advisor to the board and owner at Bolton, added: Quite clearly the club remains in a critical financial position.
We will continue to try and finalise a sale or alternatively raise some short-term funds needed to give the club a breathing space and time in which to consider its options.
Birch was appointed as an advisor to help orchestrate a takeover of the club.
Bolton s problems off the pitch have been mirrored on it, with Neil Lennon s side bottom of the table having taken just 12 points from 19 matches this season.
