In September it will be 50 years since my father first took me to watch Luton Town draw 1-1 with Leeds United. I have been fortunate to be a presenter of World Cup finals and Olympics Games, I have commentated from fantastic places, but nothing churns my stomach and generates more undying passion and excitement than walking through the gates at Kenilworth Road.

Luton is in my blood, I spend my life chatting to our fans, travelling to matches home and away - the club are the heartbeat and focal point of the community. As is the case with Blackburn, Rochdale and Burnley, and similar towns, Luton is most identified by the football club. People remember Luton for David Pleat charging across Maine Road in a beige suit to celebrate staying in the top flight; the support of Eric Morecambe, one of the best comedians of our generation; Andy Dibble's one-handed penalty save that inspired winning the League Cup in 1988; and producing great players, such as Ricky Hill, the Stein brothers and Bruce Rioch.

So beginning next season with minus 30 points in the bottom division is hard to swallow. We are shattered by the Football League's decision to award a 20-point penalty if the club want to play in Coca-Cola League Two next season, on top of the ten points that were docked by the FA for misconduct charges. It is so harsh and my thoughts on those people who have made the decision this week are unprintable. But they seem to be the only people in football who consider this justice. You wonder what they are trying to do - are they trying to force us out of existence? This is not only about Luton. Bournemouth and Rotherham United, who are in administration, face a similar predicament.

We have done everything possible to exit administration in a fair and transparent way. But Revenue & Customs refused to accept a cut in the money that it was owed while “football creditors” - the players and other clubs - are paid in full, as Football League rules require. That means that a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), which is required by the League, could not be agreed, leading to a points deduction.

So the Football League rules are, it seems, impossible to fulfil and it needs to look again at its insolvency regulation. When clubs are struggling, being flattened by a mallet does not help. We accepted and expected a sanction, but 20 points is breathtaking. It is a kick in the face for the fans who have supported the club mostly through thin and thin in recent times and us who have come in to help the club.

Luton Town Football Club 2020's investors have put in £1million to keep the club afloat during its administration, while the original consortium members - Gary Sweet, Stephen Browne, Antony Brown - have worked tirelessly for no money. The complex document applying for exiting administration, for instance, is 450 pages long.

The penalty seems so unjust and mean-spirited and devoid of understanding of what makes football fans tick. We are being punished for something that we are not responsible for. The League is not to blame for the club's mess, but it is sad that it is not being more supportive to get Luton out of it.

We wanted to come out of administration in April, but the League was dealing with Leeds United's fight against their points deduction. Had we been able to, we could have had the points deducted from our total last season.

When Leeds were deducted ten points at the end of the 2006-07 season, the penalty did not hurt them because they were already relegated. They received a 15-point deduction last season because they could not complete a CVA. We are being treated more harshly, yet we have smaller debts and will be the new owners. They had the same owner taking them in and out of administration. The League could have suspended or backdated any deduction we received.

It is a great privilege, if very stressful, to be involved in the club's future. In four years' time we hope to have a stadium that will be remembered for hosting wonderful football, as we played in the 1980s, not the horrendous stuff going on now.

Nick Owen is the chairman of Luton Town Football Club 2020, Luton Town's prospective next owner, and he is the main presenter of BBC's Midlands Today

Ups and downs of the Hatters

April 1985 Become one of most unpopular clubs in England by banning away fans and installing artificial pitch at Kenilworth Road

April 1988 Win the League Cup by beating Arsenal 3-2 in front of 95,000 fans at Wembley Stadium

May 1991 Football League bans artificial pitches

May 1992 Relegated from top flight on final day of season

May 1996 Relegated to third tier

March 1999 Enter administration after failing to receive planning permission for new stadium

May 2001 Relegated to bottom division

June 2003 Mike Newell takes over after “Manager Idol” phone vote by supporters

July 2003 Enter administration for second time

May 2005 Promoted to Coca-Cola Championship after winning League One

Jan 11, 2006 Newell creates storm by claiming that corruption is rife in transfer deals

Jan 18 Newell meets FA to discuss claims

Jan 24 Premier League announces inquiry will be launched into alleged bung payments

March 14, 2007 Newell sends letter to Luton board highlighting his concerns about handling of transfer payments at club

March 15 Newell sacked after he urges reporters to investigate financial mismanagement at club

April 11 Bill Tomlins resigns as chairman after admitting that irregular payments have been made through J10, the club's parent company

Nov 23 Deducted ten points by Football League for entering administration

Jan 16, 2008 Kevin Blackwell sacked as manager by administrator and replaced by Mick Harford. Luton Town Football Club 2020 Ltd (LTFC 2020), a consortium that includes Nick Owen, the television presenter, awarded “preferred bidder” status

Feb 26 LTFC 2020 bid conditionally accepted by administrator

May 3 Relegated to League Two after finishing bottom of League One

June 4 Deducted ten points and fined £50,000 by FA after being found guilty of 15 misconduct charges involving payments to agents

July 10 Deducted 20 points by Football League for failing to agree Company Voluntary Arrangement with creditors

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