National League club Southend United have been docked 10 points following a High Court decision to grant them a final 42-day deadline in order to avoid being wound up.
Having won two matches this season, the deduction means Southend go to the bottom of the table on minus four points, but they are expected to appeal the decision.
The club’s owner Ron Martin said the sale of the club to an unnamed Australian buyer should be finalised next month but there is still a debt of £275,000 owed to HM Revenue & Customs.
In court on Wednesday, the judge warned Martin that Southend would be wound up if the new deadline of 4 October was missed.
Following this decision, Southend released a statement that said: “Today the Court granted the Club a further 42 days to settle its debt to HMRC and those supporting the winding up petition, those payments will be facilitated by the sale of the Club.
“Negotiations are at an advanced stage with a consortium led by an Australian national, and comprising of a group of local businessmen. Completion is targeted before 1 October.
“Until the sale of the Club completes, everyone involved with the Club, supporters, staff and stakeholders will of course be anxious about its future. We also know that people are concerned about the prospect of a points deduction for apparent non compliance with the conditional licence we have been granted to play in the National league’s competition. We believe that the correct sanction for non payment of HMRC is an embargo, not a points deduction. We are talking to the National League on this point. If agreement cannot be reached we will immediately pursue an appeal.”
BREAKING: Southend United Football Club have been deducted 10 points with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/Ilen8o7FRa
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 23, 2023
