A number of football luminaries have written to the FA in support of Luton Town’s appeal against a deduction of ten points and a £50,000 fine after they were found guilty of misconduct over payments made to agents. The Coca-Cola League Two club hope that the FA will consider lessening the punishment at an appeal hearing in London tomorrow.

As it stands, Luton will start next season on minus 30 points after a separate points punishment was imposed by the Football League last week, leaving the club facing a battle to retain their League status.

David Davies, the former acting chief executive of the FA, and Doug Ellis, the former Aston Villa chairman, who served as a councillor on the governing body, are among a number of eminent figures in the game who have sent strongly worded letters to the FA. Davies, who is now a consultant, wrote that the punishment was “harsh, unfair and should be reconsidered”.

Ellis wrote that the misdemeanours were committed by the club’s previous regime and Luton Town Football Club 2020 (LTFC 2020), the prospective new owners, should not be penalised severely. He added that LTFC 2020 was “suffering as they try to save the lifeblood of the club”. The FA has informed Luton that it will not consider any letters of support.

Luton have also received backing from many people in the game who believe that the ten-point punishment will dissuade club officials from blowing the whistle on future wrongdoings for fear that their cooperation will not be taken into account fully if the FA issues charges at a later date. Luton have been angered that they were not treated leniently because it was Cherry Newbery, the secretary at the time, who drew attention to directors who were paying agents through a holding company, rather than from the club’s bank account. Luton introduced this payment system because Mike Newell, the manager at the time, had an aversion to the club paying agents for deals.

Should Luton’s appeal be unsuccessful, they would start the season with minus 30 points after the League imposed a 20-point deduction for the club not being able to meet the League’s insolvency rules to exit administration. The League has ordered Luton to give an undertaking that they would spend an extra £500,000 so that unsecured creditors would receive 16 pence in the pound and LTFC 2020 has been asked to sign a letter relinquishing its right of appeal against the League’s penalty.

In these circumstances, it would be understandable if LTFC 2020 considered pulling out of a deal to take the club out of administration, leaving Luton in danger of going out of business. LTFC 2020 has already given the administrator, Brendan Guilfoyle, of the P & A Partnership, more than £1 million to keep Luton going, and now must pay a further £1.6 million to buy the club, in addition to administration costs and paying off football creditors.

Clubs from the Barclays Premier League and Coca-Cola Championship have expressed their support with offers of players on loan, while Luton’s players have pledged to stay and fight what will inevitably be a relegation battle, but the club are expected to sell Calvin Andrew, a forward, to Crystal Palace this week.

Vultures are circling already, with Norwich City making an offer of £300,000 for David Bell, the midfield player who was the subject of a bid in excess of £750,000 from West Bromwich Albion last season. On the pitch, Luton recovered from a two-goal deficit to defeat Boreham Wood 4-2 in their opening preseason friendly match on Saturday, scoring three second-half goals to claim the victory. In what could be a foretaste of things to come, Mick Harford, the manager, used eight players who are on trial at the club.

‘From all genuine fans of football: good luck in your appeal, you’ll need it’

Not only have some of football’s leading figures leapt to the defence of Luton Town, but fans of clubs across Britain have registered their support – and the occasional gibe – for the club via the internet

Rotherham fan here. Gutted for all you Luton fans. I’d love to see all 23 clubs in League Two throw their match at Luton to send a message. We little clubs have had enough!
ParkgateMiller, boards.footymad.net

As a QPR supporter, there’s no love lost between our two clubs, but an injustice has been done here, with the League “flexing its muscles” against a vulnerable club after punishing Leeds so ineffectually last season. As always it’s the fans that suffer.
Emmelars, rivals.net/forums

What they have done to Luton is a disgrace. They should be ashamed of themselves. I hope you stay up for all of football.
mufc_fan, boards.footymad.net

From all genuine fans of football: good luck Luton in your appeal. You’ll need it. I’m a Leeds fan and I sincerely hope you get a better deal than we did. You’ll soon find out who your friends are.
wheelsbay34, luton.vitalfootball.co.uk

Dundee United fan here. Just wanted to say that what they have done to your club is an absolute disgrace. I wish you all the best for the season and hope that you can stay up. I’ll be looking out for your results.
toronto_arab, boards.footymad.net

How stupid of the Football League to impose such a huge deduction of points. Poor old Luton look certainties to be relegated not due to their on-field exploits but those off it. Expect Bournemouth and Rotherham to start with a minus figure as well. West Ham didn’t get a deduction when they were involved in irregularities. One law for the rich and another for the poor methinks.
NorthLincsMiller, bbc.co.uk/dna/606

Luton is now officially the coldest town in England . . . -30
gigisarmy, lutontown.rivals.net