EFL refuting club owner’s Covid claims

THE English Football League has hit-back at claims from Wigan Athletic’s owner Au Yeung Wai Kay’s that the club’s demise was down to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Championship club entered administration last Wednesday and are set to be handed a 12-point penalty by the EFL once the season has been completed.

However, the club’s administrators have now confirmed they have launched an appeal against Wigan’s impending 12-point deduction.

And in an interview shortly after that news, Au Yeung Wai Kay confirmed that the financial impact of the COVID-19 outbreak was to blame. But in a fresh statement released by the EFL, it appeared that they weren’t buying Au Yeung Wai Kay’s version of events.

It read: “The EFL continues to note the many comments and concerns in respect of the recent developments at Wigan Athletic Football Club from supporters, media and public figures. Given the club’s standing within the EFL and their local community there is, quite rightly, a significant strength of feeling of anger and frustration. The league fundamentally disagrees with the comments attributed to Mr Au Yeung Wai Kay where he stated ‘the COVID-19 pandemic has undermined the ability to fund the club’.

“While it is clear COVID-19 has undoubtedly presented significant financial challenges to the professional game, evidence of the required source and sufficiency of funding to be invested in or otherwise made available to the club, was provided as part of the recent change of control process.

“In respect of the challenges at Wigan Athletic, there is clearly a number of important unanswered questions that require urgent attention and the EFL welcomes the move made by the administrators to launch an investigation as to what has led to the club being placed into administration just a matter of weeks after the Next Leader Fund (NLF) took ownership of the club.

“The EFL will undertake a similar exercise and, should any breaches of football regulations or company law be discovered, action will be taken either by the league or the body with the relevant jurisdiction to do so.”

The EFL also included the following on their insolvency policy: “In all circumstances a sporting sanction applies in respect of an insolvency event (default 12-point penalty).

“In the case of Wigan Athletic, due to the club being placed into administration after the fourth Thursday in March, the sporting sanction will take effect once the final league positions are known.”