Baichung's one-time club Bury expelled by EFL after 125 yrs

One of English football's oldest clubs and at one time to have signed Baichung Bhutia, Bury FC has been expelled from the country's football league EFL, following its failure to resolve financial woes or find a new buyer.

"Having fully considered all available options, including a number of late expressions of interest provided to the EFL, the EFL Board has unanimously determined with enormous regret that Burys membership be withdrawn," said a statement released by EFL late on Tuesday night.

Bury made history when they signed Indian football icon Bhaichung Bhutia in 1999. Bhutia then became the first Indian to sign for a European club.

According to a BBC report, a takeover bid from C&N Sporting Risk collapsed after the club was given a deadline till Tuesday evening to complete the deal.

"The EFL Board had maintained that there could be no further suspensions to the fixture list and that these ongoing concerns and the integrity of the competition were a significant factor in the decision."

Bury are the first team to drop out of the EFL since Maidstone's liquidation in 1992. It was expelled after spending 125 years in the football league.

It failed to be in the top flight of English football since 1929 but were in the second tier as recently as 1999.

Things turned ugly for Bury as despite winning promotion to the third tier last season, it was handed a 12-point deduction after struggling to clear some of their debts.

Former India captain Bhutia went on to make 37 appearances for the club, scoring three goals, He returned to India in 2002.

( With inputs from IANS )