The League's chairman, Lord Brian Mawhinney, inset, has reiterated the need for financial prudence among his organisation's 72 clubs following United's doomed attempt to overturn their penalty through independent arbitration.

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Leeds were informed last week that their 15-point sanction would stand after a three-man arbitration panel ruled that the Football League was justified in imposing the deduction in response to United's failure to leave administration last summer with a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).

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The Elland Road club argued that their inability to establish an approved CVA was the direct result of a legal challenge made against their arrangement by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and stemmed from the on-going dispute between the League and the Revenue over the League's insistence that football creditors are paid in full by insolvent clubs.

Leeds owed £7.7million to the tax authority – a substantial portion of debts totalling around £35million last summer – and United were unable to persuade HMRC to support Ken Bates' proposal to buy back the club from administrators KPMG.

The Revenue, who no longer hold preferential creditor status, are maintaining a stance of opposing every CVA put forward by professional clubs while football debts continue to be met in full.

The ruling of the arbitration panel said United's case had "brought to light the necessity for a review of the insolvency policy", which currently insists on clubs in administration establishing a CVA.

Luton Town, Bournemouth and Rotherham United are three clubs who are currently struggling to exit administration by conventional means and may also incur future points deductions in line with Leeds United's if they fail to agree CVAs. Rotherham were so concerned by the situation that they supported United's arbitration challenge last month.

But in a letter to the 72 club chairmen responding to the judgement, which supported unequivocally the Football League's stance, Mawhinney said: "Any club which allows HMRC debt to accrue to such a significant extent as in this case puts itself into a position where HMRC is able to reject a CVA proposed by the club's administrators, whether because of its opposition to the football creditor rule or for any other reason.

"Clearly the position of HMRC is regrettable and we will enter into further discussions with them, but the fact remains that in most (if not all) cases the majority of the debts due to HMRC relate to PAYE and NIC, and a substantial proportion of that will relate to player wages.

"Clubs which do not pay PAYE and NIC relating to their players are, in effect, spending more than they can afford on players. As a result, those clubs that live within their means are at a competitive disadvantage.

"Whilst discussions with HMRC will continue, our focus should be on ensuring that all clubs meet their obligations to HMRC as and when they fall due."

Mawhinney, who confirmed that Leeds would incur the Football League's legal costs on top of their own, also focused on the panel's revelation that the decision to deduct 15 points from United in August was taken as an alternative to relegating the club from League One.

The Football League debated three possible sanctions for Leeds last summer - allowing the club to remain in League One with a 15-point penalty, forcing the club to begin the 2007-08 season in League Two, or ceasing their membership of the League altogether.

Mawhinney said: "It was Leeds United who chose the option of a points deduction in League One rather than commencing the following season in League Two."