Wigan Athletic have been handed a suspended three-point deduction after coming to an agreement with the EFL on how they should be punished following the late payment of their players and staff in 2022.
The Latics were taken over by Bahrain-based Phoenix 2021 Limited in 2021, with their backing helping the Latics win promotion to the Championship in the 2021-22 League One season.
However, there have been various issues since their return to the second tier when it comes to the playing squad and off-field staff receiving their monthly salaries on time.
The wages were first not paid when they should have been in June, with the issue arising yet again a month later, before the final time occurred in October.
Different reasons were attributed to each setback, with one concerning the Jubilee Bank Holiday, another regarding 'issues with security authentication procedures' with the club's ownership group and the final time being a 'delay in the receipt by the club of a payment processed by the owner'.
The suspended three-point deduction will last until the end of 2023, whilst the club's owners will now have to deposit an amount equal to 125 per cent of the forecast monthly wage bill into a designated club account every single month in order to make sure Wigan players and staff are guaranteed their salaries on time.
The Verdict
It looks like measures are now in place to make sure that Wigan do not have any kind of mishaps with their wages again.
There hasn't been a reported problem for a number of months now, which suggests that things are now under control, but at the time it was a worrying thought that Phoenix 2021 Limited may not have the money anymore to run the Latics.
They seem to be backing Kolo Toure this month though in a bid to try and escape relegation danger, with the seemingly imminent return of Joe Gelhardt on loan proof of that.
There should now be no salary issues going forward for the club, but now we know that if it does happen again for whatever reason, then the club will be punished on the pitch, which could end up threatening their Championship standing.