Wrexham enter administration

Dragons hit by sporting sanction

Wrexham were placed in administration yesterday, and became the first Football League club to be subjected to a ‘sporting sanction’.

Wales’ oldest professional club have suffered an immediate deduction of ten points and have dropped down from 16th to 22nd in the League One table.

An official Football League statement explained the sanction:

“Following notification that Wrexham Football Club has today been made the subject of an Administration Order at the High Court in Manchester, The Football League has confirmed that the club will be deducted ten points in accordance with its Regulations. This sporting sanction, which was voted into place by The League’s member clubs in September 2003, takes immediate effect. The club can appeal against the sanction if it believes the insolvency events have occurred due to circumstances which are deemed to be unforeseeable and unavoidable. The club has seven days to lodge that appeal which will, thereafter, be considered by an independent panel.”

John Nagle, Head of Communications at The Football League, said:

“The sporting sanction itself is not intended as a punishment but rather as an attempt to balance the competitive advantage clubs receive by ridding themselves of debt. This sanction, which is fully supported by our member clubs, is designed to have a deterrent effect and to make directors more accountable to supporters for the way they run their clubs. In time, the threat of sanction, coupled with the other good governance measures introduced by The League over the last 18 months, should foster a more sustainable approach to managing football clubs and, hopefully, reduce the number of clubs needing to go into administration.”