Wednesday’s 12-point deduction for this season has been reduced to six points following our appeal.
A statement on the club website this evening reads:
‘In August 2020 the Club filed an appeal to a League Arbitration Panel against the decision of the EFL Disciplinary Commission to impose a sanction on the Club of a deduction of 12 points in season 2020/21.
The Club confirms that today its appeal was upheld in part. The decision of the League Arbitration Panel is that the sanction is reduced to a deduction of 6 points in season 2020/21.
The Club was charged with breaching the league’s Profitability and Sustainability rules in November 2019 and found guilty, based on the fact that the Club should not have included profits from the sale of Hillsborough Stadium in the Club’s financial statements for the period ending July 2018.
The independent panel has today rejected the Club’s appeal related to matters surrounding the stadium sale and on consideration of the sanction; they did not agree with the Club’s assertion that a points deduction should not have been imposed. However, they did opt to reduce the sporting punishment from 12 points to six, which will be effective immediately.’