Bradford City were today warned by the Football League: 'Pay off your players or be kicked out'.

The League has told the club it must either pay compensation to City's 16 axed players, or face playing in the footballing wilderness of the Unibond League.

And the threat not only applies now, but to any new owners of the cash-strapped club.

Anyone who buys the club will be forced to stump up millions in compensation in order to ensure the club's League status is maintained.

Under Football League rules the club will not be allowed to continue in the First Division unless "a mutually acceptable agreement" is formed with the sixteen City players.

Football League spokesman John Nagle said: "Clubs in administration must meet their football debts in full in order to enjoy continued membership of the league. At a constructive meeting with the administrators it was made clear what the obligations were for continued ownership of a share in the League.

"The matter will further be discussed at the next board meeting on June 6."

If the footballing debts are not met in full by a deadline, yet to be set by the League, then City would not be allowed back into the league.

This would leave them having to return to the bottom of the pyramid system, expected to be Unibond Division One - a division below that played in by Bradford Park Avenue.

A spokesman for administrators Kroll Buchler Phillips confirmed that they were aware of the seriousness of the situation and what possible sanctions the Bantams face.

But the administrators remain optimistic a buyer will take on the considerable burden.

"When the new buyer is in place we will seek an urgent meeting with the Football League to discuss the manner in which the obligations can be met," he said.

"There are nine potential buyers for the club and we would hope that at the appropriate time we can fulfil the conditions of membership for the league.

"We look forward to the club having a strong future in Division One."

The Professional Footballers' Association today greeted the news positively.

PFA deputy chief executive Mick McGuire said: "We are delighted to get such strong Football League backing on this issue.

"We were hoping they would steadfastly stick to their insolvency policy and that has happened.

"Our position is crystal clear. If a club exits administration, then they must pay off all their football creditors, that is the players.

"Potential buyers must be fully aware of their obligations and players have to be paid up in full."

Today Iain Jenkins, an employment law specialist at solicitors Lee and Priestley, said the new Bradford City may be liable to pay off employees sacked by the administrators.

Staff fired in the latest round of cuts will have to apply to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to claim back money owed to them in unpaid wages, holiday pay, or redundancy.

But the maximum anyone - including City's highly paid superstar Benito Carbone - can expect to be paid by the Government is £250 per week.

The fired players are expected to make a claim for wrongful dismissal against Bradford City.

Mr Jenkins said that, assuming the company continued as a football club, it was likely to be liable to compensate any players making such a claim.

Players such as Carbone, on a reported £40,000 per week, could claim that amount for each week of the two years remaining on his contract.

But should any player find an alternative club - which he would be forced to seek by law - their new wage would be subtracted from the amount owed by City.

"The players certainly have a claim against Bradford City as it stands now, but Bradford City doesn't have any money," said Mr Jenkins. "The question is whether the claims transfer to the new club."

He said the new club would "almost certainly" argue that it is not liable for the contracts entered into by the previous owners.

But he added the club faces an uncertain future.

"The club may be bought by a consortium which wants to make some money but headed by someone who loves the club," he said. "I think there will be a Bradford City in the future, but whether it will be playing football at Valley Parade I just don't know."