West Brom fan group seeks EFL clarity after financial charge | OneFootball

West Bromwich Albion’s Independent Supporters’ Trust has asked the EFL for clarity over the club’s financial charge, with the relegation-battling side potentially facing sanctions.

According to ExpressAndStar.com, the charge followed a CFRU compliance report. Club lawyers will attend a hearing linked to the three-year cycle ending 2024/25, and the Baggies say they have complied with profit and sustainability rules, remained confident upon receipt of the charge, and want the matter resolved.

The matter is understood to involve historic loans in the latter stages of former owner Guochuan Lai’s reign. Two MSD Holdings loans totalling £28 million were taken, which current owner Shilen Patel has vowed to repay by December. Debate is said to centre on £5 million interest Albion believed was the responsibility of owners Bilkul, not the club.

If a breach is proven, thought to be a minor excess above the £41.5 million three-season loss limit, a points deduction could follow, jeopardising their Championship status so late in the campaign.

The Independent Supporters’ Trust said it had written to the EFL on behalf of members to seek clarity and would update fans in due course. The group is independent of the club, held its first meeting last November, and is separate to the Albion Assembly and the Fan Advisory Board launched last October.

EFL financial cases are treated as strictly private and confidential. A hearing must be held within 28 days of the CFRU report and is expected before the end of April. Any sanction must be imposed in the season after the breach, so before this season ends for Albion.

Source: ExpressAndStar.com