Wigan Athletic given suspended three-point deduction due to late player wage payments

Wigan Athletic are bottom of the Championship table

Wigan Athletic have been given a three-point deduction, suspended until 31 December, after admitting to "multiple breaches" of EFL regulations.

The sanction was given due to three cases of late wage payment to players.

Latics owner Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi will also be required to deposit 125% of the monthly wage bill into a club account in case of further delays in payment.

The club will have to maintain the account at "appropriate levels" until 31 December, the EFL said.

The three late payments came between June and October 2022 which led to a charge over a breach of the league's regulations.

In an agreed decision published by the EFL, it was said that Wigan were late paying players in June due to a misunderstanding of the impact of the Jubilee Bank Holiday, meaning wages were paid three days later than planned.

A further issue with late payment came a month later when there was a further three-day delay due to "issues with security authentication procedures" with the current owner.

The final instance came in October with another three-day delay due to a "delay in the receipt by the club of a payment processed by the owner on 20 October, 2022".