Wigan owner Whelan warns of foreign owner walkout

By Mike Collett

LONDON (Reuters) - Dave Whelan, the owner of Wigan Athletic, warned Sunday that a top English club could be crippled by debt if their foreign owner "spits out his dummy" and leaves.

Nine of the 20 Premier League clubs are owned by foreigners and Whelan said he feared the global financial crisis could force an owner to walk away, saddling the club with huge debts.

Whelan told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme: "I can see a foreign owner spitting his dummy and leaving a club piled high with debt. When it does happen it will be an awful shame for that club which might be left with 100 or 150 million pounds of debt."

Whelan, 71, who amassed his personal fortune from the sports goods business, admitted Wigan's debt is 22 million pounds.

He also said that a form of salary capping was the only way to avoid a top English club going into receivership.

"There is no doubt that Europe is very, very jealous of the Premier League," he said.

"The more we dominate Europe, and last year we had both teams in the Champions League final, the worse it's going to get.

"UEFA are going to say things about debt and I agree. What we should be doing is limiting the debt a club has. Let's say 25 or 30 per cent of income and you can't have any more debt on the balance sheet than that. If you do you're breaking rules and get points deducted.