Wigan face drop with 12-point deduction

LONDON • Second-tier Wigan Athletic will receive a 12-point deduction after their final game of the season at home to Fulham today, the English Football League (EFL) has confirmed.

The sanction was imposed after the Championship club went into administration on July 1, coming just four weeks after they were sold from one Hong Kong-based company to another, both of which were majority-owned by professional poker player and businessman Stanley Choi.

Businessman Au-yeung Wai Kay has since replaced Choi as the majority shareholder of Next Leader Fund (NFL), which purchased Wigan from International Entertainment Corporation.

According to various British media, there is speculation that NLF placed a bet on the club to be relegated, and it is alleged that the owners placed Wigan into administration so a points deduction would ensure they drop to League One.

The Latics are 13th in the standings, but only 10 points above third-from-bottom Luton (48).

That means the points deduction could relegate them even if they win. But Wigan do have the right of appeal, as do Sheffield Wednesday, who stand to lose up to a maximum of 21 points after being accused of an aggravated breach of the EFL's profit and sustainability rules.

The Owls are 16th on 56 points and will go down should the harshest punishment be applied.

An EFL statement confirmed the clubs who finish 22nd, 23rd and 24th (once Wigan's 12-point deduction has taken effect) would be relegated "subject to the resolution of any ongoing proceedings". It added: "Independent Disciplinary Commissions are well aware of the challenges for any club subject to proceedings, and the need for clarity for financial and operational planning purposes."

Since their relegation from the Premier League in the 2012-13 season, Wigan have bounced between the second and third divisions, but manager Paul Cook has called on his players to decide the club's future on the pitch.

He told local daily Wigan Post: "There's probably more pride in and around this football club than there has been for some time, and that's the most important thing heading into Wednesday."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS