COVENTRY City has been handed a suspended five-point deduction after the club reached an ‘agreed decision’ with the EFL on sanctions following the postponement of home games against Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic and Huddersfield Town.
The suspended points deduction will be applied if the Sky Blues miss any further fixtures during the remainder of the 2022/23 or the 2023/24 seasons.
The games were postponed due to the CBS Arenas pitch being in an ‘unsafe and unplayable condition’ when the fixtures were initially due to be played.
The club were then charged with failing to comply with EFL Regulations 32, 33.1 and Appendix 1, Part 3, Regulations 2.1 and 27.4.
The EFL board invited the Sky Blues to consider proposed sanctions, which the club have accepted.
Other sanctions required the club to pay £6,000 for the EFL’s costs of the investigation, while the Sky Blues will also pay compensation to the away clubs involved.
Dave Boddy, Coventry City Chief Executive, said: “Our supporters will know that we were left with a pitch at the Arena that was unsafe, dangerous and unplayable for our first games of the season, following the broken promises of a new pitch by Wasps, and the extensive usage at the Commonwealth Games Rugby 7s.
“The debacle they caused – and the cashflow problems, reputational damage and inconvenience they created for the Football Club, as well as impacting upon our sporting performance and our supporters – should have been an indication to us all of the financial plight they were facing.
“Despite the nature of our tenancy at the Arena, and the lack of any control of pitch maintenance at the Arena, it remains our responsibility as an EFL club to adhere to the regulations of the competition.
“We have accepted the decision of the EFL and the sanctions imposed on us, to minimise the sanctions that would imposed upon us, with the point deduction being suspended.
“We hope that this draws a line under this and that this is a situation that should never be repeated at the Arena.”
