A proposal for Bury to be readmitted to League Two next season was rejected by the English Football League's 71 member clubs at a meeting on Thursday, reports BBC Sport.

Bury, who were in League One, were expelled from the EFL in August after a last-ditch takeover bid collapsed.

Earlier this week, a group trying to rescue Bury submitted a plan for "compassionate re-entry" to League Two.

However, an EFL statement said "it became clear that the proposal did not have the necessary support".

It added that EFL clubs' "preferred direction of travel" was "extending the existing principle of a reduction in relegation across all divisions as a means of returning to 72 clubs now and for the future".

It means only one team will go down from League Two this campaign, rather than two, while three clubs will go down from League One.

Bury will now have to apply to the Football Association for a place in non-league football.