Watford battles to avoid administration

Championship football club Watford is on the brink of administration after former chairman Jimmy Russo refused to allow his £4.88m loan to be deferred.

Russo resigned as chairman on Tuesday and wants his money back immediately, or he will force the club into administration, resulting in a 10-point penalty.

Watford has asked for more time to repay the loan while they finalise a rescue deal, currently being worked on, reports the BBC.

Russo claims that the current planned £7.5m rights issue led by the Fordwat company was not viable and that his "significant and repeated" efforts to save Watford had been rebuffed by the club.