'One has to wonder' Nick De Marco posts thought amid Sheffield Wednesday deduction debate
A top sports lawyer engaged by the party hoping to take on ownership of Sheffield Wednesday has posted a thought amid rumbling wider debate over how football clubs are punished by its authorities.
The Star reported earlier this week that the Arise group navigating a preferred bidder stage of Wednesday’s administration process had taken on the services of Nick De Marco KC, known as one of the most formidable legal performers in sport law.
The EFL have made clear their intention to go forward with a placing a 15-point deduction on the Owls next season should the terms of Arise’s proposed takeover not fulfil their minimum dividend rule in exiting administration. Further recruitment constraints placed on the club are being discussed between relevant parties, The Star understands.
Stakeholders, most notably the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust, have outlined discrepancies in the wording of an EFL insolvency policy that the authority claims is steadfast in outlining the need for Wednesday to be landed with the deduction next season.
Concern over how the various sanctions could impact the fate of the current takeover effort prompted a remarkable comment from EFL CEO Nick Craig that said in part: “The League want to see Sheffield Wednesday continue as a member of the EFL, but ultimately we have to also apply the terms of the League’s Insolvency Policy.”
News this week that Premier League giants Chelsea had avoided a live sporting sanction for historical financial irregularities for undisclosed payments to unregistered agents, third parties and possibly players has sparked further debate as to the consistency shown in legal cases across the game.
Though making clear he was not specifically referring to Wednesday’s case, posting on X, De Marco wrote: “When it is argued, in various football disputes, that points deductions must be imposed even for inadvertent breaches, in order to vindicate compliant clubs, one has to wonder whether that reflects a genuine commitment to consistent strict enforcement in all cases, or is simply a position adopted for the purposes of a particular case.
“Consistency is very important in sport - the lack of it can undermine public confidence in the integrity of the whole game.
“I do not comment on any one individual case, I just hope that those involved in the decision making processes can see the merit in treating each case according to its particular circumstances rather than being inflexible in some, but very flexible in others. That, I am sure, would help restore the confidence in sports arbitration we all wish for.”
How - if at all - it is proposed Arise would go about navigating any attempt to avoid a 15-point sanction remains to be seen; whether through arbitration or finding a way to satisfy the minimum dividend rule. A deal could in theory be struck with outgoing owner Dejphon Chansiri to facilitate the dropping of his creditor claim.
Arise’s takeover is of course subject not only to their commitment level around whatever sanctions Wednesday are landed with, but vetting processes going forward.