Portsmouth Football Club has entered administration for the second time in three seasons.
The Championship club faces being penalised at least 10 points, but could be docked as many as 20.
Portsmouth had been issued with a winding-up petition by HM Revenue and Customs on 3 January, freezing the club's bank accounts.
The administration order enables them to access those accounts and continue trading while searching for new owners.
During the hearing, it was revealed that Portsmouth currently owe around £2m to business creditors, as well as a similar sum to the Inland Revenue in unpaid tax.
Among those creditors are fellow football clubs West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bristol City, as well as the Football League itself. Portsmouth City Council is owed £78,000.
It also emerged electricity and gas suppliers have been threatening to cut off power to the club's Fratton Park stadium for non-payment.
Pompey became the first Premier League side to enter administration in February 2010, following which they were relegated to the Championship.
Earlier this week it emerged Portsmouth had received their parachute payment from the Premier League early, however, chief executive David Lampitt told BBC Radio Solent it would be up to the administrator how money in Pompey's bank account - understood to be around £2.5m - is spent.
Pompey's parent company, Convers Sports Initiatives, entered administration in November, forcing the Championship club to search for new owners.
CSI administrator Andrew Andronikou then revealed that Pompey had missed two tax payments of £800,000 to HMRC.
It later emerged they currently owe HMRC £1.9m in unpaid tax as well as between £4m to £7m from the previous regime.
The club announced in January that their players and staff had not been paid their wages for that month, as a result of having their bank account frozen.
They later failed to gain a validation order to gain access to their accounts, leaving players and staff at Fratton Park still waiting to be paid.
Former owner Balram Chainrai last week said he was flying to the UK to sort out the stricken club's future.
The Hong Kong-based businessman, who owned the club with Israeli Levi Kushnir through a company called Portpin, is still owed £17m.
BBC South understands that any new purchaser would need to provide £12m as proof of funds, and assurances they could meet another £20m in repayments to former creditors, Chainrai and Alexandre Gaydamak.
However, the Portsmouth Supporters' Trust have claimed that Andronikou is asking them to provide £100m in proof of funds before any meeting between them could take place.
17 February 2012
Last updated at 11:19
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/16943651
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