Man City didn’t win an appeal against FFP ffs! Their appeal against UEFA’s sanctions was successful because, as UEFA acknowledged, none of the charges were proved to the required standard and in many cases the charges were brought too late In essence UEFA had placed itself as investigator, judge, jury and executioner. Never a scenario that is going to pass as fair. Worse still UEFA proved nothing and used underhand practice in doing so. Man City were fined for not cooperating with the enquiries. Our suspicions about Man City’s bookkeeping might be strong but UEFA found no proof so we’ll never know. Doesn’t mean FFP is history. UEFA badly needs to pull its socks up FWIW equity funding of clubs is fine. If I want to piss all my worldly goods into a football club on some juvenile vanity project- that’s my funeral and no other fucker’s business. Ripping people off and borrowing funds I’d never repay that’s wrong and illegal and has to be disbarred in football
The long-standing Glasgow duopoly in jock football was just boring not intrinsically crooked. Milan and Turin rule the roost in Italy. Madrid and Barca in Spain. So what? They’re there cos they spend the most. Ever was thus. Everything else is piss weak jealous bullshit. If you can’t stand the heat etc etc
Article in the Atlantic today behind a paywall is suggesting that the legal issues around the likes of Derby and Sheff Wed and possible relegation wont be resolved until September after the new season is supposed to start.
I wonder if a highly paid lawyer would be able to get an injunction to stop the club that finished 3rd from bottom from being relegated until the matter has been resolved?
I think most reasonable fans would think that fair.
Article in the Atlantic today behind a paywall is suggesting that the legal issues around the likes of Derby and Sheff Wed and possible relegation wont be resolved until September after the new season is supposed to start.
don't need to pay to read that sort of insight, certainly don't need to pay an expensive lawyer to help work it out either EFL's interest in nothing beyond its complacent trough gobbling ensures that nothing even remotely controversial will be actioned, under a mumbled spray of deflecting piss weak bullshit, the enshrined punishments will be waived on the grounds of 'oh dear it's too late' just like Birmingham. Redrobo said:
I wonder if a highly paid lawyer would be able to get an injunction to stop the club that finished 3rd from bottom from being relegated until the matter has been resolved?
I think most Charlton fans would think that fair.
the lawyer wouldn't even need to be that costly - any qualified brief with a grounding in litigation can draft an injunction along the lines of "EFL have a persistent record of waiving rules they're too lazy and complacent to enforce, so in the interests of equity it is manifestly unfair for Team X to be relegated on performance alone while outstanding investigations and attendant punishments for competitor teams are so delayed"
So long as the brief's subs are all up to date at the lodge then Their Honour The Judge will grant the injunction and adjourn in plenty of time for lunch.
I'm not a solicitor btw and you couldn't afford me evenso
Every club might as well just break every rule they can to gain an advantage then when they get charged they should lawyer up and appeal, no way the EFL would be able to sort them all out and with a bit of luck the organisation would collapse under the strain
Fears are growing within the English Football League that disputes over which teams have been relegated from the Championship and League Two may not be resolved by the start of next season.
After top-of-the-table Leeds United host last-placed Barnsley on Thursday, every side in the Championship will have two more games to play but only four of the 24 will have nothing to play for.
Leeds, West Bromwich Albion and Brentford are fighting for the title and one of the two automatic promotion spots, Fulham are guaranteed a play-off berth but Nottingham Forest are not quite there yet. Cardiff City can leapfrog Forest to improve their chances of reaching the play-off final but can also still be caught by Millwall, Swansea City, Preston North End and Bristol City.
But it is at the other end of the table where the potential for chaos lies during the short off-season, as just seven points separate Stoke City on 50 points in 17th place and Barnsley on 43 points in 24th.
Under those rules, clubs are allowed to make a maximum loss of £39 million over three years and Wednesday were set to overshoot that by a significant margin until the £60 million sale of Hillsborough turned a third straight loss into a £2.6 million profit.
Wednesday are not the only club to sell their stadium to their owner to avoid an FFP charge — Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Derby County and Reading have all done the same — but they are the only club to have possibly waited too long to do it as the EFL believes the transaction took place after the 2017-18 accounting period.
The club have strongly contested the charge every step of the way but the case was finally heard by an independent panel three weeks ago.
The Athletic has spoken to several of Wednesday’s Championship rivals and they have all said they believe that, if the panel finds against them, the South Yorkshire side should get a bigger sanction than Birmingham City received for overspending in 2019.
“If Birmingham got nine points for a marginal breach, Sheffield Wednesday must get at least 12 points,” said one Championship club director this week, while the chief executive of another club claimed “anything less than 21 points will be a travesty”.
Points are deducted on a sliding scale up to a total of 12 depending on how great the overspending is but a further nine points can be taken away if the panel believes the breach is “aggravated” by an attempt to conceal or mislead.
A 12-point penalty would drop Wednesday to 44 points, just one point above Barnsley and three from safety, with games against fourth-placed Fulham and fellow strugglers Middlesbrough to come.
The real concern, though, is whatever the panel decides — and a verdict is expected before the club play again on Saturday — there will be an appeal.
If Wednesday are in the bottom three after the Boro game, they will almost certainly appeal but if they avoid relegation, the three teams in the drop zone will threaten to sue the league unless it appeals in an attempt to get a bigger deduction.
This is where the situation in League Two illustrates the mayhem that awaits.
When the fourth tier voted last month to curtail the season and decide the final table on a points-per-game basis, Stevenage were in last place, three points behind Macclesfield Town. The latter, however, still faced their third disciplinary charge of a season dominated by financial problems and any sanction greater than a two-point penalty would have seen the sides swap places.
That charge was heard a week after the vote and the panel decided Macclesfield were guilty of their sixth late payment of wages but should only lose the two points that were suspended at their previous hearing in May, with a new four-point penalty suspended and carried over to next season.
It took 10 days for that verdict to be announced and then a further two weeks for the EFL, under immense pressure from several outraged clubs, to lodge an appeal.
On Tuesday, Macclesfield issued an update on the appeal, saying it will not be held before the start of August, which means a verdict is unlikely to come until the second week of August at the earliest — three weeks before the 2020-21 EFL season is pencilled in to start.
But the EFL’s disciplinary backlog goes beyond Macclesfield and Sheffield Wednesday. Derby have also been charged with a possible FFP breach relating to their stadium sale to owner Mel Morris, which the club strenuously deny, while Wigan’s administrators have already appealed against their automatic penalty.
But that might not prove to be so controversial in the end as Derby are in 11th place on 61 points and their potential FFP breach is thought to be less significant than Wednesday’s, although they also deny breaking the rules and remain adamant they will be cleared.
Wigan are in 13th place but the 12-point penalty their new owner Au Yeung Wai Kay triggered when he made the remarkable decision to put the club into administration would drop them to 21st if it was applied now, ahead of Hull City on goal difference.
Under the rules, the automatic penalty could have been applied next season, in League One, if Wigan’s form had evaporated and they had fallen into the relegation zone but they were one of the division’s form teams before their owner withdrew funding and they have not let the shock derail them, as Hull found out to their cost on Tuesday when Wigan smashed them 8-0.
Hull’s Tom Eaves and Kevin Stewart walk off following Tuesday’s humbling defeat at the DW Stadium (Photo: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
That was their fifth win in seven games since the season’s resumption and they now go to Charlton Athletic, currently 21st, knowing they can beat the drop, even if they are docked a dozen points.
But Charlton have been scrapping for survival too, picking up eight points in seven games, conceding just five goals. If Wigan were to drop points in London on Saturday, they could need to beat Fulham at home in their final game on Wednesday.
Anything less and their appeal could become the difference between them or another team preparing for life in League One, which is not an ideal backdrop for the quick takeover they need to stop the fire sale that administrations inevitably start.
Neither the EFL nor Sport Resolutions, the arbitration service that runs the league’s disciplinary process, were willing to comment on whether these disputes would be settled by September or why the system has got so clogged up.
But The Athletic understands that league officials are frustrated with the delays and diary clashes too, and they do not believe the pandemic lockdown can be blamed as hearings have continued via video link.
One possible solution is to introduce more automatic penalties for FFP offences, such as late payment of wages, but that would lead to more appeals, which suggests the only answer is probably the least palatable: the game needs more lawyers.
"The real concern, though, is whatever the panel decides — and a verdict is expected before the club play again on Saturday — there will be an appeal."
As far as we're aware the hearing finished ages ago, indeed the Sheff Weds lawyer has already begun defending Derby in their hearing.
The game doesn't need more lawyers. It just needs the executive of the EFL and "Sport Resolutions" (really WTF?) to do a standard 40 hour week and when cheating scumbags like Sheff W cheat in scummy ways, EFL needs to hand down the ascribed punishment. Then when the scum throw in some more blatant bullshit bleating, SR need to hand down the extra 9 point sanction for aggravated whateverthefuckitis by return of post. Just a case of willingness. EFL has dawdled itself into a cul-de-sac. They've prevaricated, dawdled and bullshitted themselves into a bottleneck they now have barely enough time to unclog. They can fix this if they want to. It will take a sea change in attitude and responsibility but there's time, there's always time. Welcome to the real world Parry et al. When the work needs doing we out here earning a crust to live, we work 80 odd hours a week for weeks on end when the demand is there. We don't have the luxury of putting it off, if we don't do it when it's needed, some other bloke will get the work. Of course EFL isn't gonna allow itself a lightbulb moment. It'll come out with some more scandalous mumbled bullshit and there will follow a clutch of "Mr(s) X has decided to terminate their contract early to spend more time with their family/refresh their work/life balance. EFL thanks them for their efforts over the last y months and cheerfully sends them on their way with an extra year's salary just like we did with bullshitter Harvey last year..." And the merry go round rumbles round for another turn. They don't even have to find ways of disrespecting we fans cos we're barred from going to games.
The Sports Dispute Resolution Panel is an independent dispute resolution service available for sport in the United Kingdom. The Sports Dispute Resolution Panel is also referred to as Sport Resolutions.
If cases are being heard by an independent body then there should be no appeals. Appeals to whom exactly anyway...? Any any appeals should bring in a double punishment if they are lost.
If cases are being heard by an independent body then there should be no appeals. Appeals to whom exactly anyway...? Any any appeals should bring in a double punishment if they are lost.
The “independent “ body isn’t that independent anyway as clubs nominate one of the three board members. No new evidence is allowed in an appeal so it is difficult to understand what exactly it is a club can appeal. It seems it is basically ‘we are not happy with the outcome.’
It is so obviously bollox. If SW get away this season, someone else gets the punishment. SW get the divi and the opportunity to overcome any points deducted.
If we are to continue with this farcical system, then any monies should be withheld until the appeal has been heard. If the appeal is not upheld the payment should go to the club that was relegated and SW should be automatically relegated next season with four clubs getting promoted if the relegated club is not one of the promoted teams.
If there is seriously no news tomorrow then we have to believe that the EFL punishment of a Wednesday points deduction will go over to next season.
It all seems very convenient and is clearly intended to bash Barnsley and any other club who have the nerve to question and threaten the sanctity of the EFL.
It's a fit up in my opinion and when the complaints come in you can just see the efl saying how difficult making a decision was and that these things can't be rushed... eg. Complete bullshit!
They are not fit for purpose and sadly they are ruining our lovely game by them continually pissing on the fans.
Cheated their way to mid table finish this season. Look to have cheated us out of relegation and now they're gloating to journalists about how much money they have to spend this summer.
Cheated their way to mid table finish this season. Look to have cheated us out of relegation and now they're gloating to journalists about how much money they have to spend this summer.
Cheated their way to mid table finish this season. Look to have cheated us out of relegation and now they're gloating to journalists about how much money they have to spend this summer.
It has been proved many times,the EFL are a toothless,gutless unfit for purpose,out dated out of touch shambles.You wont get any decisions quickly,because they are a bunch of Empire builders trying to prolong every problem that comes their way,so as to justify their existence and no doubt over inflated salaries.Pass the Brandy old chap.
It's being suggested now that Chansiri hasn't actually paid a penny for Hillsborough.
Although Sheffield Wednesday have sold the property to Chansiri's company, allegedly registered in Hong Kong and owned by his wife, no money has actually changed hands. Sheffield Wednesday have in their accounts a debt of £60m owing from this other company.
That debt is repayable in seven instalments of £7.5m over an eight-year period, but none has actually been made yet. Wednesday have changed their tax year dates and the 2017/18 returns have to be into HMRC by the end of this month - a 14 month period.
Be interested to see if the first £7.5m payment for the ground has been made yet.
Still not certain how a sale can be allowed for in one seasons accounts before the actual sale and the payments future spread over 8 years.
It's being suggested now that Chansiri hasn't actually paid a penny for Hillsborough.
Although Sheffield Wednesday have sold the property to Chansiri's company, allegedly registered in Hong Kong and owned by his wife, no money has actually changed hands. Sheffield Wednesday have in their accounts a debt of £60m owing from this other company.
That debt is repayable in seven instalments of £7.5m over an eight-year period, but none has actually been made yet. Wednesday have changed their tax year dates and the 2017/18 returns have to be into HMRC by the end of this month - a 14 month period.
Be interested to see if the first £7.5m payment for the ground has been made yet.
Still not certain how a sale can be allowed for in one seasons accounts before the actual sale and the payments future spread over 8 years.
IF true, surely this independent panel will throw the book at them.
I suppose it maybe a way out possibility that they have not announced the penalty so that they play all games trying to win them and not just give up.
It's being suggested now that Chansiri hasn't actually paid a penny for Hillsborough.
Although Sheffield Wednesday have sold the property to Chansiri's company, allegedly registered in Hong Kong and owned by his wife, no money has actually changed hands. Sheffield Wednesday have in their accounts a debt of £60m owing from this other company.
That debt is repayable in seven instalments of £7.5m over an eight-year period, but none has actually been made yet. Wednesday have changed their tax year dates and the 2017/18 returns have to be into HMRC by the end of this month - a 14 month period.
Be interested to see if the first £7.5m payment for the ground has been made yet.
Still not certain how a sale can be allowed for in one seasons accounts before the actual sale and the payments future spread over 8 years.
Also, you have to wonder if a Hong Kong registered company (was it a new company with no other assets/income?) is good for the money.
It's being suggested now that Chansiri hasn't actually paid a penny for Hillsborough.
Although Sheffield Wednesday have sold the property to Chansiri's company, allegedly registered in Hong Kong and owned by his wife, no money has actually changed hands. Sheffield Wednesday have in their accounts a debt of £60m owing from this other company.
That debt is repayable in seven instalments of £7.5m over an eight-year period, but none has actually been made yet. Wednesday have changed their tax year dates and the 2017/18 returns have to be into HMRC by the end of this month - a 14 month period.
Be interested to see if the first £7.5m payment for the ground has been made yet.
Still not certain how a sale can be allowed for in one seasons accounts before the actual sale and the payments future spread over 8 years.
IF true, surely this independent panel will throw the book at them.
I suppose it maybe a way out possibility that they have not announced the penalty so that they play all games trying to win them and not just give up.
I won’t hold my breath.
At the back of my mind I had been wondering/hoping that the punishment would be automatic relegation (sort of like the punishment Swindon got years ago) but that they didn't want it to be announced with games to play in case Wednesday gave up completely
It's being suggested now that Chansiri hasn't actually paid a penny for Hillsborough.
Although Sheffield Wednesday have sold the property to Chansiri's company, allegedly registered in Hong Kong and owned by his wife, no money has actually changed hands. Sheffield Wednesday have in their accounts a debt of £60m owing from this other company.
That debt is repayable in seven instalments of £7.5m over an eight-year period, but none has actually been made yet. Wednesday have changed their tax year dates and the 2017/18 returns have to be into HMRC by the end of this month - a 14 month period.
Be interested to see if the first £7.5m payment for the ground has been made yet.
Still not certain how a sale can be allowed for in one seasons accounts before the actual sale and the payments future spread over 8 years.
IF true, surely this independent panel will throw the book at them.
I suppose it maybe a way out possibility that they have not announced the penalty so that they play all games trying to win them and not just give up.
I won’t hold my breath.
At the back of my mind I had been wondering/hoping that the punishment would be automatic relegation (sort of like the punishment Swindon got years ago) but that they didn't want it to be announced with games to play in case Wednesday gave up completely
It's being suggested now that Chansiri hasn't actually paid a penny for Hillsborough.
Although Sheffield Wednesday have sold the property to Chansiri's company, allegedly registered in Hong Kong and owned by his wife, no money has actually changed hands. Sheffield Wednesday have in their accounts a debt of £60m owing from this other company.
That debt is repayable in seven instalments of £7.5m over an eight-year period, but none has actually been made yet. Wednesday have changed their tax year dates and the 2017/18 returns have to be into HMRC by the end of this month - a 14 month period.
Be interested to see if the first £7.5m payment for the ground has been made yet.
Still not certain how a sale can be allowed for in one seasons accounts before the actual sale and the payments future spread over 8 years.
IF true, surely this independent panel will throw the book at them.
I suppose it maybe a way out possibility that they have not announced the penalty so that they play all games trying to win them and not just give up.
I won’t hold my breath.
At the back of my mind I had been wondering/hoping that the punishment would be automatic relegation (sort of like the punishment Swindon got years ago) but that they didn't want it to be announced with games to play in case Wednesday gave up completely
Do you think that could be kept a secret?
Unlikely. We can live in hope though
The fact that it's taken so long to a) have the investigation, and b) announce the findings
Does make you wonder if it's going to be more than just a 9-12 point deduction though.
It's being suggested now that Chansiri hasn't actually paid a penny for Hillsborough.
Although Sheffield Wednesday have sold the property to Chansiri's company, allegedly registered in Hong Kong and owned by his wife, no money has actually changed hands. Sheffield Wednesday have in their accounts a debt of £60m owing from this other company.
That debt is repayable in seven instalments of £7.5m over an eight-year period, but none has actually been made yet. Wednesday have changed their tax year dates and the 2017/18 returns have to be into HMRC by the end of this month - a 14 month period.
Be interested to see if the first £7.5m payment for the ground has been made yet.
Still not certain how a sale can be allowed for in one seasons accounts before the actual sale and the payments future spread over 8 years.
IF true, surely this independent panel will throw the book at them.
I suppose it maybe a way out possibility that they have not announced the penalty so that they play all games trying to win them and not just give up.
I won’t hold my breath.
At the back of my mind I had been wondering/hoping that the punishment would be automatic relegation (sort of like the punishment Swindon got years ago) but that they didn't want it to be announced with games to play in case Wednesday gave up completely
Comments
A complete farce but surely having dragged it on for months they can't now do it with 1-2 games left.
I expect they'll start next season with -12 (or whatever)
FWIW equity funding of clubs is fine. If I want to piss all my worldly goods into a football club on some juvenile vanity project- that’s my funeral and no other fucker’s business. Ripping people off and borrowing funds I’d never repay that’s wrong and illegal and has to be disbarred in football
The long-standing Glasgow duopoly in jock football was just boring not intrinsically crooked. Milan and Turin rule the roost in Italy. Madrid and Barca in Spain. So what? They’re there cos they spend the most. Ever was thus. Everything else is piss weak jealous bullshit. If you can’t stand the heat etc etc
I think most reasonable fans would think that fair.
EFL's interest in nothing beyond its complacent trough gobbling ensures that nothing even remotely controversial will be actioned, under a mumbled spray of deflecting piss weak bullshit, the enshrined punishments will be waived on the grounds of 'oh dear it's too late' just like Birmingham.
Redrobo said: the lawyer wouldn't even need to be that costly - any qualified brief with a grounding in litigation can draft an injunction along the lines of "EFL have a persistent record of waiving rules they're too lazy and complacent to enforce, so in the interests of equity it is manifestly unfair for Team X to be relegated on performance alone while outstanding investigations and attendant punishments for competitor teams are so delayed"
So long as the brief's subs are all up to date at the lodge then Their Honour The Judge will grant the injunction and adjourn in plenty of time for lunch.
I'm not a solicitor btw and you couldn't afford me evenso
Fears are growing within the English Football League that disputes over which teams have been relegated from the Championship and League Two may not be resolved by the start of next season.
After top-of-the-table Leeds United host last-placed Barnsley on Thursday, every side in the Championship will have two more games to play but only four of the 24 will have nothing to play for.
Leeds, West Bromwich Albion and Brentford are fighting for the title and one of the two automatic promotion spots, Fulham are guaranteed a play-off berth but Nottingham Forest are not quite there yet. Cardiff City can leapfrog Forest to improve their chances of reaching the play-off final but can also still be caught by Millwall, Swansea City, Preston North End and Bristol City.
But it is at the other end of the table where the potential for chaos lies during the short off-season, as just seven points separate Stoke City on 50 points in 17th place and Barnsley on 43 points in 24th.
And the situation is further complicated by the 12-point deduction hanging over Wigan Athletic for entering administration two weeks ago and Sheffield Wednesday’s long-running financial fair play dispute with the EFL.
Wednesday, who are in 15th place on 56 points, were charged with misconduct in November after club owner Dejphon Chansiri sold their stadium to himself to avoid breaking the league’s profitability and sustainability rules in 2018.
Under those rules, clubs are allowed to make a maximum loss of £39 million over three years and Wednesday were set to overshoot that by a significant margin until the £60 million sale of Hillsborough turned a third straight loss into a £2.6 million profit.
Wednesday are not the only club to sell their stadium to their owner to avoid an FFP charge — Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Derby County and Reading have all done the same — but they are the only club to have possibly waited too long to do it as the EFL believes the transaction took place after the 2017-18 accounting period.
The club have strongly contested the charge every step of the way but the case was finally heard by an independent panel three weeks ago.
The Athletic has spoken to several of Wednesday’s Championship rivals and they have all said they believe that, if the panel finds against them, the South Yorkshire side should get a bigger sanction than Birmingham City received for overspending in 2019.
“If Birmingham got nine points for a marginal breach, Sheffield Wednesday must get at least 12 points,” said one Championship club director this week, while the chief executive of another club claimed “anything less than 21 points will be a travesty”.
Points are deducted on a sliding scale up to a total of 12 depending on how great the overspending is but a further nine points can be taken away if the panel believes the breach is “aggravated” by an attempt to conceal or mislead.
A 12-point penalty would drop Wednesday to 44 points, just one point above Barnsley and three from safety, with games against fourth-placed Fulham and fellow strugglers Middlesbrough to come.
The real concern, though, is whatever the panel decides — and a verdict is expected before the club play again on Saturday — there will be an appeal.
If Wednesday are in the bottom three after the Boro game, they will almost certainly appeal but if they avoid relegation, the three teams in the drop zone will threaten to sue the league unless it appeals in an attempt to get a bigger deduction.
This is where the situation in League Two illustrates the mayhem that awaits.
When the fourth tier voted last month to curtail the season and decide the final table on a points-per-game basis, Stevenage were in last place, three points behind Macclesfield Town. The latter, however, still faced their third disciplinary charge of a season dominated by financial problems and any sanction greater than a two-point penalty would have seen the sides swap places.
That charge was heard a week after the vote and the panel decided Macclesfield were guilty of their sixth late payment of wages but should only lose the two points that were suspended at their previous hearing in May, with a new four-point penalty suspended and carried over to next season.
It took 10 days for that verdict to be announced and then a further two weeks for the EFL, under immense pressure from several outraged clubs, to lodge an appeal.
On Tuesday, Macclesfield issued an update on the appeal, saying it will not be held before the start of August, which means a verdict is unlikely to come until the second week of August at the earliest — three weeks before the 2020-21 EFL season is pencilled in to start.
But the EFL’s disciplinary backlog goes beyond Macclesfield and Sheffield Wednesday. Derby have also been charged with a possible FFP breach relating to their stadium sale to owner Mel Morris, which the club strenuously deny, while Wigan’s administrators have already appealed against their automatic penalty.
In May, The Athletic reported that several Championship clubs, including Barnsley, would sue the EFL for loss of earnings if they are relegated and Derby and Sheffield Wednesday are not punished this season. Derby’s case is being heard this week, which suggests any sanction would not be applied until next season.
But that might not prove to be so controversial in the end as Derby are in 11th place on 61 points and their potential FFP breach is thought to be less significant than Wednesday’s, although they also deny breaking the rules and remain adamant they will be cleared.
Wigan are in 13th place but the 12-point penalty their new owner Au Yeung Wai Kay triggered when he made the remarkable decision to put the club into administration would drop them to 21st if it was applied now, ahead of Hull City on goal difference.
Under the rules, the automatic penalty could have been applied next season, in League One, if Wigan’s form had evaporated and they had fallen into the relegation zone but they were one of the division’s form teams before their owner withdrew funding and they have not let the shock derail them, as Hull found out to their cost on Tuesday when Wigan smashed them 8-0.
That was their fifth win in seven games since the season’s resumption and they now go to Charlton Athletic, currently 21st, knowing they can beat the drop, even if they are docked a dozen points.
But Charlton have been scrapping for survival too, picking up eight points in seven games, conceding just five goals. If Wigan were to drop points in London on Saturday, they could need to beat Fulham at home in their final game on Wednesday.
Anything less and their appeal could become the difference between them or another team preparing for life in League One, which is not an ideal backdrop for the quick takeover they need to stop the fire sale that administrations inevitably start.
Neither the EFL nor Sport Resolutions, the arbitration service that runs the league’s disciplinary process, were willing to comment on whether these disputes would be settled by September or why the system has got so clogged up.
But The Athletic understands that league officials are frustrated with the delays and diary clashes too, and they do not believe the pandemic lockdown can be blamed as hearings have continued via video link.
One possible solution is to introduce more automatic penalties for FFP offences, such as late payment of wages, but that would lead to more appeals, which suggests the only answer is probably the least palatable: the game needs more lawyers.
WHY THE HELL DONT THEY DO THIS ALREADY!!! - GROW A PAIR EFL
As far as we're aware the hearing finished ages ago, indeed the Sheff Weds lawyer has already begun defending Derby in their hearing.
So why are we still waiting for a verdict?
Just a case of willingness.
EFL has dawdled itself into a cul-de-sac. They've prevaricated, dawdled and bullshitted themselves into a bottleneck they now have barely enough time to unclog. They can fix this if they want to. It will take a sea change in attitude and responsibility but there's time, there's always time.
Welcome to the real world Parry et al. When the work needs doing we out here earning a crust to live, we work 80 odd hours a week for weeks on end when the demand is there. We don't have the luxury of putting it off, if we don't do it when it's needed, some other bloke will get the work.
Of course EFL isn't gonna allow itself a lightbulb moment. It'll come out with some more scandalous mumbled bullshit and there will follow a clutch of "Mr(s) X has decided to terminate their contract early to spend more time with their family/refresh their work/life balance. EFL thanks them for their efforts over the last y months and cheerfully sends them on their way with an extra year's salary just like we did with bullshitter Harvey last year..."
And the merry go round rumbles round for another turn.
They don't even have to find ways of disrespecting we fans cos we're barred from going to games.
https://www.sportresolutions.co.uk/
Sports Dispute Resolution Panel
The Sports Dispute Resolution Panel is an independent dispute resolution service available for sport in the United Kingdom. The Sports Dispute Resolution Panel is also referred to as Sport Resolutions.
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/03351039/officers
No new evidence is allowed in an appeal so it is difficult to understand what exactly it is a club can appeal. It seems it is basically ‘we are not happy with the outcome.’
It is so obviously bollox. If SW get away this season, someone else gets the punishment. SW get the divi and the opportunity to overcome any points deducted.
If we are to continue with this farcical system, then any monies should be withheld until the appeal has been heard. If the appeal is not upheld the payment should go to the club that was relegated and SW should be automatically relegated next season with four clubs getting promoted if the relegated club is not one of the promoted teams.
https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/reporter-suggests-surprising-sheffield-wednesday-window-could-be-on-the-way/
It all seems very convenient and is clearly intended to bash Barnsley and any other club who have the nerve to question and threaten the sanctity of the EFL.
It's a fit up in my opinion and when the complaints come in you can just see the efl saying how difficult making a decision was and that these things can't be rushed... eg. Complete bullshit!
They are not fit for purpose and sadly they are ruining our lovely game by them continually pissing on the fans.
Will they still be cheating by using the sham companies to sponsor the club?
Although Sheffield Wednesday have sold the property to Chansiri's company, allegedly registered in Hong Kong and owned by his wife, no money has actually changed hands. Sheffield Wednesday have in their accounts a debt of £60m owing from this other company.
That debt is repayable in seven instalments of £7.5m over an eight-year period, but none has actually been made yet. Wednesday have changed their tax year dates and the 2017/18 returns have to be into HMRC by the end of this month - a 14 month period.
Be interested to see if the first £7.5m payment for the ground has been made yet.
Still not certain how a sale can be allowed for in one seasons accounts before the actual sale and the payments future spread over 8 years.
I won’t hold my breath.
Do you think that could be kept a secret?
The fact that it's taken so long to
a) have the investigation, and
b) announce the findings
Does make you wonder if it's going to be more than just a 9-12 point deduction though.