Clubs who go into administration face 25-point deduction in the future

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

Clubs are expected to encounter this problem increasingly because Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs is routinely voting against CVAs.

The Football League requires clubs coming out of insolvency to agree a CVA, a settlement which requires acceptance by 75 per cent of creditors.

Scroll down for more

Unsuccessful appeal: Ken Bates failed to get Leeds' 15 points back

HMRC has long refused to agree to be paid only a proportion of the tax and VAT it is owed while under the League's "football creditors' rule" players' wages, and any money owed to other clubs, are being paid in full.

Leeds incurred the automatic 10-point penalty when the club went into administration last May, then accepted a further 15-point deduction in League One when they failed to achieve a CVA.

Having promised in writing not to take legal action, Leeds then initiated proceedings in the high court, seeking to have the 15 points reinstated, and the action was referred to arbitration.

Last week a three-man arbitration panel upheld the 15-point penalty as "reasonable and proportionate" in the circumstances, because Leeds had been seeking to join League One without complying with the rule that they had to achieve a CVA after going into administration.

Lord Mawhinney, the Football League's chairman, said of the ruling that he was very satisfied that the League's authority and rules had been upheld, and that the insolvency policy would continue to apply to the League's clubs.

Mawhinney added that while the League did not want to be bound strictly by the precedent of 25 points having been deducted from Leeds, that sanction is now "an established fact".

Reports in The Guardian suggest each case will be judged on its merits, but Leeds' 15-point deduction on top the automatic 10-point penalty sets the bar for clubs which go into insolvency and fail to agree a CVA.

League One Bournemouth, who had ten points deducted this season which resulted in their relegation, have not agreed to a CVA and face the prospect of starting next season with a further 15-point deduction.