Sheffield Wednesday points deduction revelation made - it could be big | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday face a points deduction over their repeated failure to pay wages on time, and the timing of it being applied could be significant.

It's been confirmed that Sheffield Wednesday will face a points deduction over their repeated failure to pay wages on time over the last few months, and the deduction could be a heavy one.

Sheffield Wednesday kick off their Championship season against Leicester City on Sunday with dark clouds lingering over the club.

Premier League solidarity payment money has allowed the club to settle up their outstanding wages and payments due to other clubs, but the club remains in a desperate condition, and with few signs that a takeover is actually imminent.

With a threadbare squad and only three weeks left until the end of the summer transfer window, new head coach Henrik Pedersen faces an uphill battle to keep his Wednesday team competitive this season, and he might find his job is about to get a lot more difficult.

Sheffield Wednesday to be hit with points deduction

Journalist Alan Nixon reports via Patreon on Sunday that Sheffield Wednesday are to be hit with a points deduction by the EFL.

It's stated that this deduction could be big too, as a result of the repeated nature of the club's offences.

The end of July's missed payments were the fourth time that the club have failed to pay their wages on time, and as such, the EFL now appear ready to throw the proverbial book at the Owls in the form of a points deduction.

But the fact that this deduction has not been applied yet hints at some degree of damage limitation on the part of the EFL themselves.

Nixon reports that the League have not applied a deduction yet because of the message that would be sent by Sheffield Wednesday starting their new season on a minus figure, especially when it's likely that Leicester City, their opponents in their opening fixture, could be facing one this season too.

So, whilst a disciplinary panel is combing through the case with subsequent penalties to follow upon the conclusion of their findings, the exact date for when this deduction will be handed out remains unclear.

Sheffield Wednesday surely unlikely to match the EFL's record points deduction handed out

Points deductions are a familiar part of the disciplinary process for clubs that have fallen foul of the EFL's rules.

With the introduction of Financial Fair Play rules, they've become far more commonplace in the 21st century, although there's a long history of them being applied.

Sheffield Wednesday are likely to receive a substantial points deduction because wages and payments to other clubs have been repeatedly late. This suggests an institutional issue within the club rather than a one-off cash flow issue.

But while Wednesday are likely to be fairly severely sanctioned, they're unlikely to set a new record either.

Luton Town hold that unwelcome honour, after getting deducted 30 points by the League over their financial issues in 2008-09. It cost the club their place in the football league, and the sense of injustice that the club felt was all the more accentuated because the club's new owners were essentially being punished for the misdeeds of the previous regime.

It is unlikely that Sheffield Wednesday will be hit with a similarly-sized deduction to Luton, but with Henrik Pedersen's team already expected to struggle in the Championship this season and the margins between staying up and going down at the foot of this division potentially very thin indeed, Wednesday could well find that the summer's financial chaos has ramifications which stretch right the way through the coming season, regardless of the current embargo having been lifted.