Coventry City: Suspended points deduction imposed for pitch postponements
- Published
Sixty-five rugby sevens matches were played at the CBS Arena in three days during the Commonwealth Games
Coventry City have been given a suspended points deduction after three Championship games had to be postponed because of the state of their pitch.
The problems resulted from the pitch being used for rugby sevens matches during the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The Sky Blues accepted they had breached English Football League ground maintenance regulations.
And the five-point penalty will be implemented if there is a further breach in 2022-23 or next season.
City's August home fixtures against Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic and Huddersfield Town had to be rescheduled because the pitch was not fit to be used.
The problem caused "cashflow imbalances", which meant the club were placed under a transfer embargo because they had to ask HM Revenue & Customs for extra time to pay money owed.
The final instalment under the agreement was paid on Wednesday, with the embargo lifted in time for the January transfer window.
Coventry were eventually cleared to resume playing at the Coventry Building Society Arena at the end of August after repair work was carried out by then landlords, Wasps, following mediation by West Midlands mayor Andy Street.
However, Wasps subsequently went into administration and the ground is now owned by Mike Ashley's Frasers Group.
City chief executive Dave Boddy said: "Our supporters will know that we were left with a pitch at the Arena that was unsafe, dangerous and unplayable for our first games of the season, following the broken promises of a new pitch by Wasps, and the extensive usage at the Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens.
"The debacle they caused - and the cashflow problems, reputational damage and inconvenience they created for the football club, as well as impacting upon our sporting performance and our supporters - should have been an indication to us all of the financial plight they were facing."
Coventry have also been ordered to pay compensation to the three clubs, and the costs of the EFL investigation.
They also had to switch a Carabao Cup tie against Bristol City to Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium because of the pitch issues.
The relevant regulation states that clubs are "responsible for the maintenance of the pitch and for the general maintenance of the ground, including (but not limited to) ground safety".
They must also ensure that "adequate arrangements are in place" to maintain a pitch in "good order".
The suspended points deduction was imposed on the basis of an "agreed decision" between the club and the league.
"We have accepted the decision of the EFL and the sanctions imposed on us, to minimise the sanctions that would imposed upon us, with the point deduction being suspended," added Boddy.
"We hope that this draws a line under this and that this is a situation that should never be repeated at the arena."
Despite the early season situation, Coventry are eighth in the table, but earlier this month they were served with an eviction notice by Frasers.
They have since signed an agreement to continue playing home games at the Arena until the end of the season.