Points deduction pushes Wigan towards relegation

Wigan are a step closer to relegation from the Championship after they were deducted three points on Monday for repeatedly failing to pay their players on time.

The Latics are now eight points adrift of safety at the foot of the table after being sanctioned by the English Football League for not delivering March's salary to their squad.

It is the fourth instance of not paying players on time in the last nine months, having also done so in June, July and October of last year.

In January, the club had accepted a suspended penalty should they fail to make payments on time.

An EFL statement read: "Wigan Athletic has, with immediate effect, been deducted three points from the 2022/23 Championship table after the club failed to pay player salaries again in March 2023.

"The club had previously been charged and sanctioned for failing to adhere to the terms of the standard contracts that were in force between the club and its players in the months of June 2022, July 2022 and October 2022.

"This latest infringement by the club to meet its obligations means the terms of the agreed decision the club entered into with the EFL in January 2023 has been breached and the application of the suspended sporting sanction has been automatically triggered."

Bahraini businessman Abdulrahman al-Jasmi fronted a takeover of the club in 2021 after they fell into administration a year earlier.

"The club notes the EFL statement and charge and will issue a further update on the current wage situation in due course," Wigan said in a statement.