West Bromwich Albion suffer two-point deduction for EFL financial breach
West Bromwich Albion have received an immediate two-point deduction for breaching English Football League financial rules, plunging them back into the Championship relegation battle.
The Baggies have dropped from 18th to 20th in the table, leaving them just six points above the drop zone with two games remaining.
Manager James Morrison must now secure at least one point from their final two fixtures to guarantee survival in England’s second tier.
The West Midlands club will host second-placed Ipswich Town on Saturday, before travelling to already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday on the final day of the season.
Ownership dispute over loan interest
The sporting sanction follows a disagreement between the governing body and the club’s hierarchy over how interest payments on historical loans should be classified.
Bilkul, the current ownership group, paid approximately £5m in interest on a £20m loan taken out by former owner Guochuan Lai.
The new owners argued these payments should fall under ownership expenses rather than being included in the club’s Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) calculations.
However, an independent ruling determined that the interest represents a fundamental expenditure and must be factored into the assessment.
Exceeding the loss threshold
The EFL’s Club Financial Reporting Unit found the Hawthorns outfit exceeded the £39m upper loss threshold for the three-year period ending in the 2024-25 campaign.
Despite the club denying the allegations, an independent panel imposed the penalty following a two-day hearing in late April.
“The CFRP determined that the club’s losses did exceed the Upper Loss Threshold and imposed a two-point deduction, effective immediately.”
The hierarchy at the Hawthorns now has 14 days to launch an appeal against the written decision.
Relegation permutations
The points deduction drastically shifts the landscape at the bottom of the Championship table.
Oxford United currently occupy the final relegation spot, though the Baggies maintain a superior goal difference by six goals.
Matt Bloomfield’s Oxford side face Sheffield Wednesday next, before a demanding final-day trip to promotion-chasing Millwall.
If the Oxfordshire club falters in either fixture, Morrison’s men will secure their divisional status regardless of their own results.
