West Brom handed 2-point deduction - EFL slammed by ex-CEO in fresh update | OneFootball

A former CEO at two Premier League clubs has slammed the EFL amid a looming potential points deduction for West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion have now secured survival in the Championship following an upturn in fortunes under interim boss James Morrison.

The Baggies' battle against relegation to League One had appeared poised to go right down to the wire after Eric Ramsay's ill-fated reign in charge, which lasted a mere 44 days and consisted of a miserable four draws, five defeats and zero victories from nine matches.

Ramsay was, of course, the second permanent managerial hire of the season, having succeeded Ryan Mason in January before Albion looked internally to Morrison. It's a decision they have now reaped the rewards from, with the ex-Baggies midfield star overseeing a lengthy unbeaten run to steer West Brom to safety in the Championship after Tuesday evening's inspired 3-0 win over Watford.

That was taken away from them on Friday evening however, when it was announced that a two-point deduction was handed to them by the EFL for a breach of their financial rules, meaning that they still needed one more point to survive - and they claimed that with a goalless draw on Saturday with promotion-chasing Ipswich Town.

Albion can now look ahead to the 2026/27 campaign as they bid to build on a bitterly-disappointing season at The Hawthorns, even after the EFL took late season action against them.

And it's a saga which has attracted considerable discourse, with former Everton and Aston Villa CEO Keith Wyness now weighing in on the matter and delivering a rather telling verdict to the EFL prior to them actually punishing the Baggies.

Ex-CEO slams EFL amid West Brom points deduction

Quite precisely, the charges brought against West Brom relate to interest payments on loans that were taken out by Lai ahead of his long-awaited sale to Patel.

A recent development to the saga has come from David Piesing, who is both a supporter and a minority shareholder of the Baggies.

Via X, Piesing has claimed that he sent emails to former chief executive Ke Xu, the club's auditors and the EFL regarding the loans all the way back in 2023, alleging that Lai had funded separate businesses using West Brom's finances that then meant Albion were forced into borrowing money to cover withdrawn funds.

It's Piesing's view that a potential points deduction some three years on from the initial raising of the issue would represent a "gross injustice."

Wyness is also of the opinion that the EFL should have done something about the situation, and is hoping that any docking of points has a minimal impact on the Baggies' fortunes.

Speaking to Football Insider, the former CEO explained: "Let’s give James Morrison some applause for what he’s done since he’s come in as interim.

"Even with a points deduction, they seem safe enough now, and they’ve put together some good results. So good luck to them on the pitch. Well done.

"I thought that was fascinating, and I have unfortunately had a very personal experience of a Chinese owner and the opaqueness of the Chinese situation and checking out people in China and what goes on.

"I had great sympathy with the fan that had done that research, because they were bang on the money in my opinion. They were quite right.

"In this case with West Brom, the EFL should have been interested. Nick Craig is mentioned in those emails and I know he will have had an interest because I’ve had dealings with Nick Craig before, and he will admit himself that the whole Chinese issue is very cloudy.

"It is very hard to get proper information and there’s a lot to be said about what that fan was saying and the EFL has jumped way too soon on this issue, about this points deduction on that particular loan.

"They shouldn’t have gone so early, they obviously have done, and they must believe they’ve got some evidence.

"In the end, they’re going to have to swallow it and eat humble pie on this one because it was a mistake and, hopefully, West Brom have done enough now that even if there is a small points deduction they’ll be safe anyway."

West Brom could've been ruined by potential EFL points deduction

West Brom are rightly earning plaudits for the recent unbeaten streak to elevate away from relegation danger, as they had actually appeared primed to drop into the third-tier at one stage.

Morrison has been able to get a tune out of this side where both Mason and Ramsay failed too, though, and it's no surprise that West Brom are now reportedly looking to hire the 39-year-old's services on a permanent basis.

In terms of the points deduction, the two points taken off them was minimal enough, but it still created a small amount of jeopardy heading into the Ipswich match, but that's now gone.

It all means, then, that West Brom will be even more appreciative of Morrison's ability to direct the team upwards, meaning that the ramifications of a sanction were not too-sorely felt whereas, previously, it could've had ruinous consequences.