Wigan fans View on the Appeal

Way I see it is that Wigan went into admin which is automatic 12 point deduction subject to unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances .
Imo they must have declared these circumstances (force majeure ) to the EFL and they have deemed their excuses inadmissible and proceeded with the penalty .
So the independant panel should not be presented any hidden or new evidence they havnt already disclosed to the EFL.
In other words the evidence they bring is already known and been dismissed and the penalty imposed.
The appearance of representatives from Barnsley or Wigan to argue anything other than the evidence the EFL was presented is imo fruitless , sympathy and consequential evidence or statements are immaterial .
It’s not a case of who deserves this or what would happen if either club went down etc it’s a case if have the rules been applied justly and correctly and the answer has got to be yes .
There’s no force majeure or the EFL would have picked it up the rules are there for all and nothing else should be considered .

 

Possibly. But isn't there a date where the 19/20 season officially becomes the 20/21 season. If the decision comes after that, they're reinstating points for a previous season, which will be messy.

 

At the time of administration, the Wigan owner cited the pandemic as the reason, which was thrown out by the EFL, and 12 points deducted. But I don't think that is what the appeal is based on, more like the circumstances around the takeover. I.e. the club was taken over and then immediately called in the administrators. That said, the EFL should have received the details of the appeal by now.

 

Well imo the EFL acted on the evidence presented so were correct .
I don’t think it’s a retrial they are only scrutinising the evidence the EFL were presented with and if the action they took was correct and proper .
Which to al intents and purposes it was .
This is unless I’ve missed something and they are allowed to look at evidence the EFL weren’t presented with but as far as I know they aren’t .
If it’s not almost immediately decided upon then imo they are looking at additional evidence and deciding on opinion then BFC imo have a very good litigation case that it was a retrial rather than observing the application of the rules imo.

 

Apparently they have 6000 pages setting out why they shouldn't be deducted. Which I'm assuming is all to do with the 2 takeovers, the betting scandal and anything else they have managed to find

 

Well those 6000 pages shouldn’t even be admitted .
This is an appeals panel not a retrial . They should only consider the evidence that was presented to the EFL.
Anything else is or should be beyond their remit .
They aren’t there to give or consider opinions they are there to observe the rules were just and fairly applied nothing more .

 

Totally agree with you Marlon. Just think we are going to get shafted

 

What should happen: "Nothing Wigan have presented demonstrates that their administration was solely as a result of Force Majeure. While the appeals panel has much sympathy with Wigan's position, the EFL acted correctly and in accordance with their regulations and the 12 point deduction stands."

What will happen: The appeals panel reduces or annuls the penalty. Barnsley go down. Wigan fail to pay the imminent installment of the Moore transfer fee which, on top of the money owed to us by Hull and the losses associated with relegation, send us into administration, whereupon we are immediately docked 12 points. Wigan fans say it serves us right and if our club had been better run we wouldn't have got into this mess. Sheffield Wednesday and Derby accept points deductions for the 20/21 season which is cut short because of the Covid 19 second wave. The Championship teams, persuaded by Wigan who are also in the drop zone having sold the majority of their playing staff, vote to suspend relegation for the season.

Barnsley Chronicle headline: Farce Majeure.

 

the Pie at night.


https://thepieatnight.co.uk/twelve-reasons-why-the-twelve-point-deduction-should-be-overturned

 

I'm not sure that's the case. The EFL regulation is "The League shall, immediately upon receipt of the Sporting Sanctions Appeal, instruct a firm of independent accountants to carry out a review of the activities of the Club and/or any Group Undertaking for the purposes of preparing an independent report into the circumstances surrounding and leading up to the relevant Insolvency Event(s). "

It's all down to whether the independent panel rules that the administration was a result if force majeure event.

Nasty feeling that they'll do something like reduce the deduction, to something meaningless. We'll be in league 1 while WAFC continue without an owner.

 

All 12 reasons appear to be irrelevant, but I am no expert of course

 

hope you are correct.

 

They do have the power to reduce: https://www.efl.com/-more/governance/efl-rules--regulations/section-3---the-league/

"12.3.18 The League Arbitration Panel shall have the power to:

(a) confirm the deduction of 12 points; or

(b) set aside the deduction of 12 points and substitute a deduction of such lower number of points as it shall deem appropriate; or

(c) order that there shall be no sanction at all."

 

What if they've speed dated and have all been f ooking each other the night before?

 

I reckon they will get off with it.

 

The only thing I see them have the remotest chance of succeeding with is the fact the season finished late.
They could argue that cash flow would have lasted until the end of the ‘normal’ season and rather than being relegated should be starting with a -12 next season.
However I suspect the flaw in that argument is that all the clubs including Wigan votedas a majority to continue. I have no idea how Wigan voted but if they voted to continue you would think that would be completely dead and buried.

 

Dragon Tyke in pessimistic outlook shocker.

 

Supposedly the QC is going to be unable to present all the ‘evidence’ so will have to choose.