Dom Howson, Sheffield Wednesday writer at Yorkshire Live, has recently taken part in a Q&A with Sheffield Wednesday fans, in which he discusses the club’s misconduct charge from the EFL.
Wednesday were charged with misconduct by the EFL last November, following investigations into alleged accounting manoeuvres relating to the club’s £60 million sale of Hillsborough to owner Dejphon Chansiri.
The sale of the ground was an apparent attempt for the club to remain within the EFL’s profitability and sustainability rules, which state that a club must lose no more than £39 million over a three-year period.
Without the sale of the stadium, Sheffield Wednesday would have registered a loss of £35.4m for the 2017/18 financial year, which, following on from losses of £9.8m and £20.8m in the previous two seasons, would have well exceeded the EFL’s £39 million threshold.
As a result of the misconduct charge, Wednesday face the possibility of a points deduction, a financial penalty or even expulsion from the league. However, a large points deduction, possibly up to 21 points, is reportedly the most likely outcome.
In a recent Q&A with Sheffield Wednesday writer Dom Howson, a question concerning the likelihood of the EFL’s choice of punishment was posed to the journalist, who gave the following answer: “The arbitration is still ongoing. The process is well underway but it is difficult to say when it might be resolved. The EFL give little away and it is a very complicated case. it’s very hard to say when it might be resolved.”
At present, then, it appears that Wednesday and their fans will have to sit tight and wait to discover their club’s punishment, which looks set to have a significant impact on the 2020/21 season.