Shrimps' CEO provides update on EFL charge

Last year saw the club and owner Jason Whittingham charged with failing to adhere to the terms of an Agreed Decision.

Following the late payment of last March’s wages, the Shrimps were charged with misconduct for failing to comply with Regulation 64.7 which states: “The terms of a Standard Contract between a Club and a Player shall be strictly adhered to.”

The club admitted to being in breach and accepted an Agreed Decision which, as well as including EFL and ratification costs, also came with another sanction.

That was a suspended three-point deduction for the 2023/2024 season, to expire on June 30, 2024 if it wasn’t activated.

However, it would become active if there was a failure to pay players on time before that date or if the club’s owner failed to deposit an amount equal to 125 per cent of the forecast monthly wage bill – gross/before tax deductions – in a designated club bank account for calling upon by the club in the event of any future delays in processing of overseas payments.

There were also obligations around reporting on the operation of the account, as well as a duty to maintain it at appropriate levels and a time limit of June 30, 2024 for its operation – provided there was no call on the amounts during that period.

The EFL said that any failure to do so would breach the Agreed Decision, trigger the suspended sanction and may result in misconduct charges against Whittingham.

Confirming the charges at the time, the EFL said: “In August, funds were deposited in line with the agreement for a previous failure to pay the club’s wage bill, however on September 4, those funds were used and Whittingham failed to redeposit the amount, despite requests from the League.

“Mr Whittingham’s failure to redeposit the funds has led to personal charges, while the club has also been charged for failing to meet deposit account requirements.

“The charges will now be considered by an independent Disciplinary Commission with the outcome to be communicated by the EFL once a decision is reached.”

Last Friday’s fans’ forum saw the club CEO, Ben Sadler, provide supporters with an update on the latest position.

He told those present: “We got charged by the EFL in November with breaching the Agreed Decision when we didn’t pay wages earlier in the season.

“Our stance is we haven’t breached it, theirs is we have, so I’ve spent a lot of time working with legals on the case that’s being presented.

“It’s an ongoing matter due to be determined in the middle of March, I’ll be spending a couple of days presenting our case.

“We have done our best and we will do our best, we really believe in our case.

“We’ve put together a really robust – and I feel a really strong – case as to why that shouldn’t lead to any form of points deduction or sanction.

“We know how important it is to keep hold of every point we earn.”