Championship club West Bromwich Albion have been docked two points by the English Football League for breaking profit and sustainability rules.
The deduction means Albion are now not safe from relegation, having previously thought the midweek win over Watford had secured their second-tier status.
The Baggies had been charged for exceeding the £39m loss limit for the three seasons to 2024-25, allegations which the club denied.
But during a two-day hearing, an independent club financial review panel (CFRP) found Albion’s losses “did exceed the upper loss threshold” and recommended a two-point penalty.
That leaves Albion in 20th place in the table, six points above the relegation zone with two games to play, needing one more point to seal survival.
They host promotion-chasing Ipswich Town on Saturday before visiting already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday on the final day of the season.
West Brom have two weeks to appeal against the deduction and should they do so, a decision on said appeal will then not be made for up to 28 days.
While it would take an unlikely set of results to push Albion back into the bottom three, the appeal avenue raises the unwanted scenario that the relegation positions could be decided after the season has finished.
After reports first emerged 10 days ago that the club could face a charge over their accounts for last season, Albion said they had “fully complied” with the EFL’s P&S rules.
In a statement, external on Friday, the club said they stand by that belief.
“The club disagrees with the CFRP’s findings and remains of the view that it has fully complied with the profitability and sustainability rules,” Albion said.
“The decision does not state the amount by which the club is said to have exceeded the upper loss threshold.
“West Bromwich Albion has not been informed of the quantum of the breach, save that this is less than £2million.
“This is therefore the smallest ever breach of the P&S rules across the EFL Championship and the Premier League.”
Albion are the third Championship club to be hit with a points penalty this season after Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester City, who have both gone on to be relegated.
The Owls were deducted 18 points for entering administration and financial breaches while the Foxes were docked six points for breaching P&S regulations.
Oxford remain favourites to fill the third relegation spot despite Albion’s deduction as the 22nd-placed U’s are six points from safety – they need to win both of their remaining games and hope either the Baggies or Charlton lose both of theirs.
Unhappy Baggies ‘considering appeal options’
Under P&S rules, Championship clubs are permitted to lose a maximum of £39m over a rolling three-year period.
Albion have been closely monitored by the EFL after their losses increased by £23.4m during the 2023-24 accounting period, the first without parachute payments since relegation from the Premier League in 2021.
And although the club has posted a combined loss of £55.6m since July 2022, the figure is considerably lower for P&S purposes because spending on infrastructure, their academy and the women’s team is exempt from calculations.
It is around these so called “in-kind” deductions that Albion are basing their objection to the decision – specifically their charity partner The Albion Foundation – claiming the metaphorical goalposts surrounding the issue have been moved.
“Proceedings were brought by the CFRU (Club Financial Reporting Unit) following a change in the CFRU’s approach to community development expenditure,” the club statement added.
“In 2023-24, the CFRU accepted the club was entitled to include in-kind donations of the club’s facilities, staff time and resources to its official charity partner, The Albion Foundation, in its P&S calculation.
“Earlier this year, the CFRU informed the club that it had changed its approach and imposed a retrospective adjustment to the club’s P&S calculation.
“Without the CFRU changing its approach to the community development expenditure, the club would not have breached the P&S rules.”
The club added it was “considering its options” in terms of a potential appeal.
‘Albion’s anger evident in statement’ – Analysis
BySteve Hermon
BBC Radio WM’s WBA reporter
When reports of an alleged breach first emerged, it was understood to be a minor breach of financial rules and this is reflected in the punishment announced by the EFL panel.
The club has not received written reasons for the decision, but they know the alleged breach is less than £2m over the £39m losses allowed over a rolling three-year period.
This carries a punishment of three points, but one point is given back if football clubs show they have reduced their annual losses compared to the previous year, which the Baggies have done.
The anger from the words released by the club in response is evident.
I understand they submitted their annual accounts in December, but it took the EFL more than three months to charge them and yet the decision reached by the CFRU panel took just 24 hours after a two-day hearing.
In comparison, it took the Premier League 64 days to reach its original decision on Leicester City, which led to them receiving a six-point deduction and they will now be playing in League One next season.
Albion now need at least a point from their final two games to be assured of safety. The first is against second-placed Ipswich at The Hawthorns where the atmosphere will likely be feral due to the timing of the decision on the eve of the game.
The message from head coach James Morrison has consistently been that they will do their talking on the pitch and that is mirrored by the club’s defiant statement, although they have left the door open for an appeal, so this saga could roll on into the final days of a dramatic season.
Source: BBC
