London Irish have been given a deadline of 30 May to complete their takeover or risk being suspended from the Premiership next season. <\/span><\/p>\n The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has set the deadline for the deal’s approval.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The club otherwise has to show evidence it has the financial means to continue through the 2023-24 season.<\/span><\/p>\n Owner Mick Crossan is in protracted talks to sell the Exiles, with an American consortium in negotiations to buy the club.<\/span><\/p>\n Irish finished fifth in the Premiership this season, the club’s highest league finish since the 2008-09 campaign. <\/span><\/p>\n Yet off the field there has been growing concern over the club’s financial future.<\/span><\/p>\n Player wages were paid late in April<\/span><\/a>, drawing comparisons to <\/span>Worcester<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Wasps<\/span><\/a>, who both collapsed financially and entered administration last autumn. <\/span><\/p>\n But director of rugby Declan Kidney said on 4 May the club had been given “a lot of assurances” by its prospective new owners, and staff trusted the buyout would “come to a positive resolution for everybody involved here”.<\/span><\/p>\n The RFU said the timescale had been set to “avoid a scenario where the club enters insolvency mid-season, with the corresponding and substantial impact that has on players, staff and fans, as well as on the remainder of the league”.<\/span><\/p>\n “This deadline was set to give enough time for the buyers to provide the information needed and for the transaction to complete,” the RFU added.<\/span><\/p>\n
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