Bury may not be the last English Football League (EFL) club to lose their status because of financial problems, according to Rick Parry, the governing body’s chairman.
The club were expelled from the league in August after failing to provide financial guarantees, as a late takeover bid collapsed.
League Two club Macclesfield are also currently experiencing difficulties.
Parry said: “I can’t say Bury will be the last, there may be more fall-out.”
The ex-Liverpool chief executive added: “We have seen the problems with Macclesfield which are fairly extreme and they are not the only one. Maybe we are going to have to go through more pain before it gets better.”
The Silkmen’s game against Crewe scheduled for last Saturday was suspended after the players said they would not play in protest over unpaid wages, and that their emotional and mental wellbeing was at “rock bottom”.
As a consequence of failing to pay wages the club were charged by the EFL, and they face being further disciplined over the unfulfilled fixture.
Parry’s concerns were echoed by former Wigan chairman David Sharpe, who said he “would not be surprised” if in the next five years a Championship club dropped out of the Football League.
A BBC Radio 5 Live Investigation Unit analysis found English second-tier sides had run up a record high total of £307m in pre-tax losses in 2017-18.
The EFL chairman believes new salary cap rules might be one way to remedy the situation.
Parry pointed to the example of rugby union side Saracens, who were docked 35 points for salary-cap breaches, which suggested to him that such sanctions are legally enforceable.
“We always felt it was something that couldn’t be explored,” he added. “I’ve heard clubs recently say maybe what we have is too complex and maybe we should concentrate on the issue we are all concerned about which is wage costs and focus on something similar.
“But to say that’s the majority view or something that is likely to happen is way off the mark. It’s part of the debate.”
Sharpe, who is now an agent, said that “a salary cap is the only way to solve the problem”.
He added: “People talk about a new TV deal but it will all just go back to the players ultimately and the clubs and owners that want to gamble will just give out higher wages.
“A salary cap will be hard to pass on a vote but if it doesn’t, they have a big, big problem on their hands.”
