Sheff Utd expect to avoid points deduction - CEO

Sheffield United's CEO says the club do not expect to receive an English Football League points deduction and the owners would "fight hard" if any such sanction is imposed.

The EFL launched an investigation after the company used to buy the club was placed into liquidation by the High Court in August.

COH Sports Bidco Limited (CSBL) agreed to purchase the Championship club for just over £100m in December 2024 but about £35m is still owed on the deal.

A winding-up petition was filed in July against CSBL by United World - the club's former owners - with insolvency events able to trigger a 12-point penalty under EFL rules.

Blades chief executive officer Stephen Bettis spent an hour in the BBC Radio Sheffield studio on Tuesday night, with the potential points deduction top of the agenda.

Bettis said: "The EFL are investigating the process and what has happened.

"The 12-point deduction only relates to if the club or a company within the group goes into insolvency. The advice our owners have got from their lawyers is that the club certainly didn't go into insolvency - we're funded, we're paying all our bills on time.

"The company that no longer is in the group has now had a winding up order against it.

"The position of our owners is that the winding up petition happened after that entity was no longer within the Sheffield United group. While it was within the group it never had a winding up order, it didn't become insolvent - their belief is that that stops the 12-point deduction happening."

BBC Sport has contacted the EFL for comment.

Bettis conceded there remains a risk of potential fines or points deductions, adding: "The EFL are still investigating that and there is still the risk of that from their perspective."

"I think if any decision is made to go down that path obviously the owners will fight that quite hard."

BBC Sport reached out to the EFL for comment and were told "matters still remain ongoing".

Though not a direct comparison, in 2009 Southampton were docked 10 points by the EFL after their parent company went into administration and the football club claimed there was not a financial link between the two.

Bettis added: "It wasn't a parent company for Sheffield United when it happened, that's quite an important difference.

"The EFL have been aware of this for four months, if it was clear cut we'd have been charged already, in my opinion. It's clearly not clear cut and it continues to go on.

"The owners have cooperated fully with the EFL investigation. They are now deliberating internally and we're waiting for their response."

Asked by BBC Radio Sheffield's Rob Staton if that means the club are not expecting a points deduction, Bettis said: "From the advice the lawyers for our owners were given - that is what we've been told.

"I'm not going to sit here and categorically say we're not at risk, until the verdict is given I'm not going to make myself look an idiot.

"There's still that risk, whether it's a fine, a points deduction, all of those are on the table still and until they are not we have to be open and understand that's the situation."