Macclesfield Town: Potential takeover of financially-beleaguered club stalls

Macclesfield Town are 15th in League Two after 17 games of the 2019-20 season

A potential takeover of League Two side Macclesfield Town by local businessman Joe Sealey has stalled, BBC Radio Manchester reports.

Sealey, son of former Manchester United goalkeeper Les, has said he would sustain the financially plagued club.

The stall comes amid a dispute over the provision of proof of funds between Sealey and Silkmen owner Amar Alkadhi.

The club had a winding-up petition over a £180,000 unpaid tax debt adjourned on Wednesday for a seventh time.

Macclesfield bosses had told the High Court that the outstanding debt had been paid.

HM Revenue & Customs said the payment had not cleared, with Judge Sally Barber saying the case would be reconsidered on 4 December.

The adjournment came soon after players threatened to strike for a second time in a week in protest over unpaid wages, leading to the club receiving a charge of misconduct by the English Football League.

First-team players refused to play in their 4-0 FA Cup first-round defeat by seventh-tier side Kingstonian on 10 November and were advised not to train before their Leasing.com Trophy tie at Shrewsbury last week because of concerns over health insurance, but the club went on to pay the premiums.

Cheshire Police later said they had received a report in relation to a financial matter at the club which was separate to the EFL's charge of misconduct.

However, the threat of a strike for their League Two fixture against Mansfield was averted when the majority of players' outstanding salaries were understood to have been settled in full.