FFP could lead points deduction for clubs

A HOST of Championship clubs could kick-off the 2020/21 season with a points deduction as a row simmers over how the coronavirus pandemic should hinder financial regulations.

The current reporting period for the Championship’s profit and sustainability rules [P&S] is due to end on June 30, and by that date clubs will have to show that they have not lost more than the allowed £39m over the past three years or face sanctions from the EFL.

The Daily Mail is reporting that before the coronavirus outbreak began, ‘five to eight’ clubs were likely to be in breach of the regulations, but had planned to sell players when the transfer window opened at the beginning of June to ensure that they complied with the rules.

The clubs had indicated their intentions in forecasts sent to EFL bosses.

However, the heavy impact that the Covid-19 crisis has had on English football means that the transfer window, most likely, will not open until after the June 30 cut-off date, meaning those clubs in danger of breaching P&S rules will not be able to comply.

It is likely that the financial reporting window will also be pushed back, but there is a real danger that when the transfer window does open, clubs will struggle to find buyers for players at the prices they are wanting, as clubs will have suffered in a financial sense due to the lost revenue because of the pandemic.

Should these clubs ask for the regulations to be relaxed, they are poised to face opposition.

There is growing resentment among those clubs who are on course to comply because they feel they have acted responsibly and lived within their means. One Championship club executive, who has not been named, said: “There is a feeling there are some who have overspent and are now looking to wriggle out of P&S.

“If they have broken the rules, they should be punished.”

■ Southampton have become the first Premier League team to announce an agreement with their players over wage deferral during the coronavirus crisis.

Saints have announced measures to help the club and non-playing staff through the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Southampton’s players, manager Ralph Hasenhuttl and his coaching staff have agreed to defer part of their salaries for the months of April, May and June “to help protect the future of the club, the staff that work within it and the community we serve”. In addition, the club have confirmed they will not use the Government’s job retention scheme to furlough non-playing staff during that three-month period.