10 EFL CLUBS HIT BY TRANSFER BAN
TEN English Championship clubs were last week under transfer embargo as concerns grow that some second-tier outfits are facing ‘financial Armageddon’.
Sportsmail can reveal that, just days ago, almost half of the league was subject to a registration ban — raising the prospect that they may be unable to sign players this summer should they not overturn the embargo. And the startling discovery has led to claims the integrity of the competition has been seriously undermined. The clubs in question were Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Cardiff City, Coventry City, Derby County, Huddersfield Town, Luton Town, Reading, Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke City. Of those, Sportsmail understands Huddersfield have now come off the list while Stoke say they will soon follow suit, with both of those clubs putting the penalty down to administrative rather than financial issues. However, the size of the group has illustrated the strain clubs are under, due, in some cases, to overspending. The Covid-19 pandemic, which has robbed sides of matchday revenue, has also had a grave impact. When asked for comment, the EFL said: ‘The league does not confirm the names of clubs placed under registration embargo.’ However, one official at a club not on the list was incensed. ‘This shows what we are up against,’ the official said. ‘When you have almost half the league under embargo, it questions the integrity of the whole competition. ‘Yes, Covid has had an impact but you have a lot of clubs spending money they simply don’t have. Financial Armageddon is coming.’
Some people believe clubs are taking the penalty now while the transfer window is shut in the hope that they will be in a position to trade again when it opens. Clubs can be banned from signing players for a range of offences including non-payment of outstanding transfer and loan fees, late payment of player wages, breaches of the EFL’s profit and sustainability rules and the late posting of accounts. All clubs on the list were approached for comment. Aside from Huddersfield and Stoke, no responses were forthcoming. Last week, the EFL took out a £117.5million loan to help cover the cost of lost gate receipts from US financiers MetLife. Bournemouth announced annual losses of £60.1m in March while Sheffield Wednesday’s last accounts showed they were losing £1.5m a month.