Championship rivals of Blackpool, Burnley, Preston and Wigan hit with suspended points deduction

The Sky Blues were unable to host games at the CBS Arena in the opening month of August due to the “unsafe and unplayable condition of the pitch”.

Fixtures against Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic and Huddersfield Town were all postponed as a result.

Coventry were subsequently charged by the EFL with a failure to comply with its regulations and have now been hit with a five-point deduction, which will be suspended for the remainder of the 2022/23 season as well as the 2023/24 campaign.

The club have also been ordered to pay compensation to Rotherham, Wigan and Huddersfield, while they will also cover the EFL’s costs of £6,000 during the investigation.

The EFL said in a statement: “The sanction was imposed in accordance with the terms of an ‘agreed decision’ which has formally been ratified by an independent disciplinary commission chair as per the requirements of EFL regulations.”

Coventry’s chief executive Dave Boddy said: “Our supporters will know that we were left with a pitch at the arena that was unsafe, dangerous and unplayable for our first games of the season, following the broken promises of a new pitch by Wasps and the extensive usage at the Commonwealth Games Rugby 7s.

“The debacle they caused - and the cashflow problems, reputational damage and inconvenience they created for the football club, as well as impacting upon our sporting performance and our supporters - should have been an indication to us all of the financial plight they were facing.

“Despite the nature of our tenancy at the arena, and the lack of any control of pitch maintenance, it remains our responsibility as an EFL club to adhere to the regulations of the competition.

“We have accepted the decision of the EFL and the sanctions imposed on us, to minimise the sanctions that would be imposed upon us, with the point deduction being suspended.

“We hope that this draws a line under this and that this is a situation that should never be repeated at the arena.”