Championship relegation still uncertain despite last-day drama

MANCHESTER, England, (Reuters) - The final-day drama in England’s second-tier Championship involved several clubs making late escapes from the threat of relegation but despite the tears of joy and pain, there may yet be a final twist to the season.

The clubs in the bottom five places in the Championship with six games remaining remarkably all survived — Barnsley were in the relegation zone for 10 months, before getting out with one minute of the season left thanks to a late winner at third-placed Brentford.

Luton Town, who started the final day inside the relegation zone, rose to the safety of 19th place thanks to a 3-2 win over Blackburn Rovers.

Hull City, Charlton Athletic and Wigan Athletic were all relegated to the third-tier League One.

Wigan, however, only dropped into the bottom three as a result of a 12-point penalty imposed at the conclusion of the campaign as a result of the club going into administration.

Wigan can appeal that decision and if they succeed in overturning or reducing that sanction, then Barnsley could still be relegated.

Gerald Krasner, the administrator in charge of Wigan, says the club’s appeal will be heard on July 31.

Wigan had an excellent second half of the season, with only champions Leeds United and Brentford collecting more points than them since the turn of the year.

The Latics ended with 59 points, which would have been good enough for 13th place before the 12-point deduction was imposed.

Wigan were owned by the Whelan family until 2018 before being taken over by Hong Kong-based International Entertainment Corporation.

The club’s ownership changed hands for the second time in two years when they were taken over by a Hong Kong-based consortium headed by Au Yeung Wai Kay in June and less than a month later, the club went into administration.