Macclesfield docked six points for not paying players and cancelling match
Macclesfield have been deducted six points after pleading guilty to numerous EFL charges following an Independent Disciplinary Committee hearing on Thursday.
The punishment is for infringements that include the players failing to be paid on time, and for pulling out of their League Two match with Crewe on 7 December.
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The six-point deduction means Town fall to 22nd in the table on 18 points, three points above last-placed Morecambe.
A statement on the club’s website confirmed the disciplinary proceedings: “Further to an Independent Disciplinary Committee hearing earlier today, Macclesfield Town can confirm that the club will be deducted six points as a result of pleading guilty to numerous EFL charges.
“These included non-payment of salaries on applicable due dates and the non-fulfilment of our League Two clash against Crewe Alexandra on 7th December 2019.
“A further four-point sanction has also been imposed on the club, which has been suspended at this time. The initial deduction will be made with immediate effect.”
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The game at home to Crewe was postponed after Macclesfield’s players released a statement saying they would refuse to play the fixture due to non-payment of wages, adding that their emotional and mental wellbeing was at “rock bottom”.
It is hoped the club will soon be under new ownership as a deal was agreed in principle earlier this month with a local businessman, Joe Sealey, son of the former Manchester United goalkeeper Les.
Sealey is aiming to complete a takeover from the current owner, Amar Alkadhi, before an Insolvency and Companies Court hearing on 15 January.
Tax officials had asked for the club to be wound up because debts have not been paid, including to the former manager Sol Campbell, who claims he is owed £180,000.
In a hearing on Wednesday, a lawyer representing HM Revenue and Customs told Judge Barber that Macclesfield staff said payment had been made. The judge said she would allow time for the payment to clear.
Bristol Rovers fined for fans’ homophobic chants
Bristol Rovers have been fined £7,500 and ordered to implement an action plan after some of their supporters conducted homophobic chanting during the Carabao Cup clash with Brighton in August.
Rovers admitted a charge of failing to ensure that their spectators conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and refrained from using abusive or insulting words, which included a reference, whether express or implied, to sexual orientation.
The police report from the game said a large number of younger Bristol Rovers fans were involved in the chanting, and the commission found evidence of “four or five audible chants each lasting for a relatively short period of time resulting in a considerable cumulative total of inappropriate chanting”.
The League Two club have been ordered to implement a 12-point action plan, which includes a review into the quality of steward training, for Rovers’ safety officer to visit other clubs to obtain best practice policies and for them to work more closely with the anti-discrimination group Kick It Out.