Wednesday at risk of losing points for Hillsborough sale
Sheffield Wednesday are facing a possible points deduction after being charged by the English Football League with breaking financial rules.
Wednesday could become the latest Championship club to be docked points for breaching the new profitability and sustainability regulations.
The charges relate to the £60 million sale of Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium to owner Dejphon Chansiri, which ensured a £38million profit and helped record a pretax profit of £2.5 million in their 2017-18 accounts, enabling them to avoid breaking the rules.
But an investigation has revealed
that, according to Land Registry documents, the purchase was made nearly a year later, prompting the charges levelled at Wednesday.
Birmingham City were hit with a nine-point deduction last season and The Daily Telegraph understands Wednesday’s punishment could be more severe if found guilty by an independent panel, with a points deduction, heavy fine or even expulsion from the league all possible. Wednesday have insisted they will “vigorously defend” the charges.
As revealed last month, the EFL appointed QCS from London-based
Blackstone Chambers to assist with the investigation, with Wednesday, Derby County and Reading all under scrutiny over the sales of their stadiums. The EFL also confirmed it is looking at Wednesday’s profitability and sustainability submissions for last season. The EFL statement read: “Following a formal investigation into financial information provided by Sheffield Wednesday in relation to the club’s 2017-18 profitability and sustainability (P&S) submission, the EFL has issued a number of charges relating to alleged breaches of EFL rules.
“Earlier this year, the EFL
launched an investigation into the club’s financial submission for the period ending July 2018 under the relevant P & S rules following the completion of the sale of Hillsborough Stadium.
“The EFL has reviewed a large number of documents obtained from the club as part of this process and concluded there is sufficient evidence to justify issuing charges of misconduct. The charges are in respect of a number of allegations regarding the process of how and when the stadium was sold and the inclusion of the profits in the 2017-18 accounts.”