Saints have announced to the Stock Market they have suspended trading of shares.

The statement to the London Stock Exchange this morning was short and simple.

"Trading on AIM for the under-mentioned securities has been temporarily suspended from 01/04/2009 7:00am pending publication of the company's half-yearly report."

So what exactly does this mean ?

Well to be blunt it is a little bit of a grey area, it is Southampton Leisure holdings whose shares have been suspended and not Southampton Football Club and although you would think they are one and the same, they actually are not and this is where it will get complicated.

SLH being the parent company are NOT the holders of the FA Licence as such, and its my belief that this being the case, they will argue that  a ten point penalty should not be issued as its the parent company and not the actual club who could potentially go into administration.

This is not a new idea it was bandied about last summer, however whether it will hold water is now going to be tried and tested, possibly through the courts and is sure to open a can of worms in the football world, of course Clubs who are not PLC's and run by parent companies will feel that this is unfair and those that are and are in financial dire straits will be rubbing their hands and thinking "Why didnt we think of this earlier"

One thing is for sure the footballing authorities will bang the stable door shut quickly befoe more horses bolt through it.

Photo: Action Images

Southampton Polls