Wigan handed suspended three-point deduction after being late paying players’ salaries three times
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Wigan handed out a suspended three-point deduction after falling behind in paying players’ wages three times last year… and Championship fighters are also required to deposit 125% of the monthly wage bill into a club account.
Wigan Athletic were handed a three-point suspended penalty after failing to pay their players’ wages on time on three separate occasions.
Last year, Sportsmail revealed that the Championship club, former FA Cup winners, had repeatedly failed to deposit funds into their team accounts on time, raising fears of a cash crunch and leaving some considering their future.
After the first two cases, club officials were dismissive, blaming the ‘Queen’s Jubilee’ and then ‘problems with foreign banks’ as reasons for the delay.
Wigan Athletic failed to pay their players’ wages on time on three separate occasions last year
The president of the Bahrain-owned team, Talal Al Hammad, boldly took to social media to deny there was a problem while, on the third occasion, the club refused to comment.
On Thursday, the EFL announced that the club, now led by former Arsenal and Manchester City star Kolo Toure, had admitted to ‘multiple breaches’ of the regulations with a penalty handed out thanks to ‘three instances of late payment of player salaries.
They added that owner Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi will also have to deposit 125% of the monthly salary bill into a club account in case of further payment delays.
Kolo Toure is yet to win a game as Wigan manager, with his Championship final side
The club will have to keep the account at ‘appropriate levels’ until December 31, while the suspension remains in force.
After sacking popular manager Leam Richardson in November, two weeks after giving him a three-year contract extension, Wigan appointed Toure.
In the eight games that followed under the new man, they have yet to win a game, have exited the FA Cup and find themselves bottom of the table.