Wigan Athletic have been hit with a three point deduction in the EFL Championship for failing to pay their staff on time - leaving them facing an immediate return to League One at the first time of asking.
The Latics were promoted under Liam Richardson last season after financial turmoil at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic saw them tumble from 12th in the second tier to 23rd, as a result of a points deduction for entering administration. Having seen them back to the Championship, Richardson was sacked in November after a poor run of form - allowing former Celtic man Kolo Toure to take the reigns.
The Ivorian lasted just nine matches at the DW Stadium, losing eight and drawing one which itself only came in the form of a last-minute equaliser at Cardiff, before Shaun Maloney replaced him. But, despite a relatively positive start to the campaign from the diminutive Scotsman, Wigan will now face punishment after failing to pay their players on time for the third time this season - leaving them eight points adrift with eight to play.
League One football now seems nailed on for the Greater Manchester outfit, with the EFL's damning statement condemning the club for their fourth breach of the rules in under a year. It read: "Wigan Athletic has, with immediate effect, been deducted three points from the 2022/23 Championship table after the Club failed to pay player salaries again in March 2023.
"The Club had previously been charged and sanctioned for failing to adhere to the terms of the Standard Contracts that were in force between the Club and its Players in the months of June 2022, July 2022 and October 2022.
"This latest infringement by the Club to meet its obligations means the terms of theAgreed Decision the Club entered into with the EFL in January 2023 has been breached and the application of the suspended sporting sanction has been automatically triggered."
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