Bristol Rovers’ League One rivals Wigan Athletic will start next season on -8 points after the Latics were hit with a second four-point penalty by the EFL.
Wigan will be in the third tier next season after finishing bottom of the Championship at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, but their desire to return to the division continues to look more challenging with increasing uncertainty around the financial future of the club.
Having been hit with a four-point penalty last week, with a further eight suspended, for failing to pay players’ wages on time, the EFL have imposed further sanctions after the club’s Bahraini owner Talal al Hammad failed to deposit money into an account by Wednesday's deadline to cover salaries.
The Latics were also docked three points in March for failing to pay players and staff on time, after three previous breaches in June, July and October last year, and a further three points was reduced from the final season’s total.
"Following the failure to ensure that an amount equal to 125% of the Club’s forecast monthly wage bill was deposited in a designated Club account by Wednesday 24 May, as per the order of an Independent Disciplinary Commission, Wigan Athletic Football Club has been deducted a further four points and will now start the 2023/24 season on minus eight points (-8)," read an EFL statement.
"This follows a previous sanction of four points after failing to pay its players’ wages on time in March 2023 and May 2023.
"The EFL has spent the past 48 hours in dialogue with the Club in an attempt to find a positive outcome to the issue but as of 9am Friday morning the required funds have not been deposited."
Former Tottenham Hotspur and QPR defender Steven Caulker was among six players released by the Latics following the publication of their retained list earlier this month and delivered a scathing criticism of the club’s owners on LinkedIn.
“I might buy a football club next week,” the 31-year-old wrote. “Put my sponsorship all around the stadium, sign loads of players, promise the fans I am committed, and then when it comes to pay day, just pay 5 or 6 players who I think are an asset to the club. Could you imagine? Again, my thoughts are with the good people of Wigan. You deserve better. It's a very sad state of affairs.”
Despite this recent penalty and continuing issues and uncertainty around the club’s ownership, Wigan are still seventh-favourites with bookmakers to win League One next season at 18/1.
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