Sheffield Wednesday handed a 6 points deduction

The club were said to have included the sale of their Hillsborough stadium in their 2017-18 accounts despite the ground being sold a year later.

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The decision meant that the Owls were handed a staggering 12-point deduction, which was fortunately reduced to six points by the start of November.

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Once the verdict was released by the EFL, the club appealed with the argument to remove the penalty entirely, but this plea was instantly rejected by the EFL board.

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In a statement released by the EFL board, they explained how the independent panel had today (4th November) rejected the club’s appeal related to matters surrounding the stadium and on consideration, believed that the club’s plea to reduce the sentence to no points deduction had been disagreed with.

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The whole saga surrounding Sheffield Wednesday and the points deduction had created a lot of controversy around the punishment and the timing at the time. The news of the 12-point penalty came nine days after the extended 2019-20 regular season finished, and eight months and 17 days after the club had originally be charged with misconduct.

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Furthermore, the sanction had been appiled this season and not during the 2019-20 season which would have seen Garry Monk’s side relegated from the Championship last season as the punishment would have ensured that the Owls finished bottom of the league.

 

The club sold its Hillsborough home to owner Dejphon Chansiri for £60m and by including it in the accounts for the 2017-18 financial year, they posted a £2.5m pre-tax profit.

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Without having done so, the club would have reported a pre-tax loss of £35.4m, following on from deficits of £9.8m and £20.8m in the previous two seasons.

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Under the English Football League’s profitability and sustainability rules, previously known as Financial Fair Play – Championship clubs are only allowed to lose £39, over a three-year period.

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In having received the punishment, Wednesday became the first club to be punished for including the sale of their ground in their accounts, but Derby County, Aston Villa and Reading have all been scrutinised for similar transactions in the past.

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On the field, Wednesday bagan this years Championship campaign with mixed results by becoming up just 11 points from their first 10 league games of the season. Eventually, heading into the final two games and with the deduction having come into affect, the Owls have unfortunately had a campaign to forget.

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With only 39 points from their 44 games, the third highest number of defeats (behind only Wycombe and Derby County) by any club in the league, the Owls seem destined to be heading to League One.

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Only time will tell if the club is able to keep hold of their star manager Darren Moore as they look to a new dawn where they look to bounce back from League One and head back to the league where they have cemented a strong position across the last couple of years.