Liverpool have refused a request from Luton Town to donate their share of the gate money from tomorrow’s FA Cup third-round tie to their opponents, despite the Coca-Cola League One club being in such dire financial straits that they are in danger of folding and cannot afford to pay their players.

Luton are losing about £400,000 a month and went into administration in November. Their players have been paid only 2½ weeks’ wages in the past nine weeks. The club’s joint-administrator, Brendan Guilfoyle, asked the Barclays Premier League club if they were willing to forgo a share of the revenue from the tie, but was rebuffed.

“They probably said, ‘We have to pay players £100,000 a week. You must be joking, otherwise we will be like you,’ ” Kevin Blackwell, the Luton manager, said. “You just have to accept it. There are people in life who have got a Rolls-Royce while some people have a Mini. We are Mini drivers.”

The match will be televised live, earning each club £150,000, and Kenilworth Road will be full to its 10,000 capacity. Of the gate money, 45 per cent goes to each club and 10 per cent to a Football Association pool, so Luton and Liverpool stand to receive about £100,000 each from ticket sales. The winning club earns £40,000 in prize-money.

Blackwell is donating his wages to Luton’s trainees, who are paid £70 a week. “I’ve got players here on £175 a week, some on £400, so there are lads here who can’t even handle being in the situation because it came out of the blue,” he said. “We went into administration three days before pay-day in November. It wasn’t as if anyone was given any warning.”

While Luton’s mess - they also face a series of charges relating to alleged irregular payments to players - is hardly Liverpool’s problem, their decision not to make a gesture of support will reopen the debate about whether the nation’s leading clubs should do more to help their smaller cousins, given the vast amount of money flowing into top-flight football.

League One clubs receive about £375,000 a year from the Football League’s television deal. The Premier League’s various television contracts bring in about £900 million a year, of which they donate roughly 1.2 per cent to the Football League to be shared among its clubs. But even the club that finishes bottom of the Premier League this season can expect to be handed more than £30 million in TV revenue alone.

Going into administration provoked a ten-point deduction that leaves Luton in the relegation zone. With other clubs circling, they face a player exodus during the transfer window. The administrators have set a deadline of 5pm Monday for offers from prospective buyers and two parties are thought to be seriously interested.

An FA spokesman confirmed that there is no rule to prevent a club donating their share of the gate money to an opponent. Chelsea gave £25,000 to Scarborough for youth development when the clubs met in the FA Cup in 2004, though Roman Abramovich, the owner, can easily afford such largesse.

Liverpool’s American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, are not in Abramovich’s financial league. Their takeover of the club last year and plans to build a new stadium rely heavily on bank loans. Liverpool refused to comment on Luton’s request.

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