MACCLESFIELD TOWN have been slapped with an immediate six-point deduction by the EFL.
The League Two club pleaded guilty to multiple charges surrounding the failure to pay players and fulfil their fixture with Crewe Alexandra.
Macclesfield were mid-table in League Two before the deductionCredit: PA:Press Association
The total punishment was to dock the club ten points but four of those are suspended while the decision remains subject to appeal.
And an EFL statement said: “An independent Disciplinary Commission has ruled that Macclesfield Town will be deducted six points from this season’s League Two table following a number of breaches of EFL Regulations.
“At a hearing today the Club pleaded guilty to multiple charges in respect of non-payment of players on applicable due dates and also the non-fulfilment of a fixture in relation to its match with Crewe Alexandra, originally scheduled to take place on 7 December 2019.
“The Commission, appointed in accordance with EFL Regulations, heard representations from both the EFL and Macclesfield Town, determining that a sporting sanction of 10 points, with four suspended, was appropriate when considering both the aggravating and mitigating factors in the case.
“The six-point deduction will be applied immediately with the decision remaining subject to appeal.”
RELEGATION BATTLE
The match with Crewe was due to take place on December 7 – but the club’s players refused to take to the field after going on strike over unpaid wages.
Macc’s players returned to training after the postponed Crewe match, and performed admirably in a battling 1-1 draw at Walsall on December 14.
Miles Welsh-Hayes had given the Silkmen an early lead, but Wes McDonald pegged them back after 74 minutes.
Despite their off-field plight, Macclesfield have been doing okay in League Two this season.
And ahead of the deduction they had sat comfortably in 15th.
But having been comfortably in mid-table, Macclesfield now find themselves in 22nd and in a relegation battle.
Usually 23rd and 24th would be relegation places, but Bury’s plight earlier this season means that only the bottom team will be relegated from League Two this season.
This means that Daryl McMahon’s team now sit three points above bottom-placed Morecambe in the sole relegation place.
And with their off-field difficulties, it will be an incredible achievement if they are to match last season’s great escape heroics under Sol Campbell.
The beleaguered Silkmen are set to face Ryan Lowe’s Plymouth Argyle side at Moss Rose on Saturday.
Arsenal icon Sol Campbell reveals Macclesfield have not paid him for two months… but he ‘won’t give up on them’
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
