Tirol handed reprieve

Champions FC Tirol Innsbruck have been handed a reprieve by the Austrian Football Association which has granted the club a licence for next season after accepting their proposed financial rescue package.
 
Cash injection
Tirol submitted a plan that includes a proposed cash injection of €4.5m before 31 May and promises to reduce the club’s debts over the coming seasons. "The Bundesliga have accepted our project. Now we will do everything possible to secure Tirol's stay in the top flight," the club’s manager Robert Hochstaffle said.

‘Enormously relieved’
"We are enormously relieved but I never really expected that the league would throw us out. I have counted on the fact that the league could not afford to throw out the champions," said Tirol’s coach Joachim Low. The decision leaves Tirol free to play in next season’s UEFA Champions League.
 
No guarantee
While the decision gives Tirol more time to sort out their economic situation, it is no guarantee of survival and is unlikely to prevent key players from leaving the club. Captain Michael Baur has already said that players will not accept a wage cut and admitted many could go elsewhere in the summer. "The current contracts will have to be honoured, but some players are likely to leave the club due to the financial situation," Baur said.