Coventry City has received a five-point deduction to be suspended for the remainder of the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 season, after the Club acknowledged that it had breached EFL Regulations relating to pitch maintenance. As a result, scheduled fixtures against Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic and Huddersfield Town all had to be postponed in August.
Coventry City will also compensation to the away Clubs along with GBP 6,000 as a compensation for the EFL investigation.
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.
According to the EPL, Coventry City breached Regulation 8, Appendix 1, Part 3 which stipulates that ‘the club is to be responsible for the maintenance of the pitch and for the general maintenance of the ground, including (but not limited to) ground safety. The Club must
ensure that adequate arrangements are in place to maintain its pitch in good order, as required under Regulation 13.’
Furthermore, the EPL ruled that Coventry City had failed to take all reasonable steps to maintain its pitch in good order, failed to use its best endeavours to ensure that each match under the jurisdiction of The League takes place on the date and at the time fixed for it as well as failed to fulfil its fixture obligations in respect of any match under the jurisdiction of The League on the appointed date or dates.