Crisis club set to enter administration next week which incurs automatic 12-point penalty but failure to fulfil Brentford Championship fixtures leaves them in line for further punishment
BOLTON are facing two separate points deductions which will leave them staring relegation to League Two in the face - three months before the new season starts.
The EFL today ruled their postponed Championship clash with Brentford will not now take place next week, handing the Bees a 1-0 victory by default.
Failing to fulfil a fixture has angered EFL bosses and as a consequence they have hit Bolton with a misconduct charge.
Though an independent panel will rule on the exact punishment, the league can make recommendations about the severity of the offence which can be taken up.
And of all the penalties open to the panel, which range from a fine to a complete expulsion from the league, a points deduction is regarded as the most likely.
The problem for Bolton is that they are next week expected to enter administration with debts of £41.6million, which would see them almost certain to be docked 12 points automatically for the start of next season.
The Trotters will then be starting the campaign in League One after their relegation from the Championship already with huge ground to make up on the rest of the division.
But that is without the punishment for failing to play the Brentford game imposed, a sanction which could see them dealt with severely because the need to fulfil all fixtures is regarded as one of the most sacred of all regulations.
Birmingham were hit with a nine-point penalty for breaking financial regulations, and not being able to play a game at least ranks alongside that offence for severity.
So there is now a very real threat that Bolton may have to start the new season with a huge deficit compared to other clubs.
That would leave Bolton facing a huge task to secure enough points to even avoid relegation to League Two.
Hitting teams with such severe sanctions will not phase the EFL - in 2008 they deducted Luton 20 points after a series a financial regulation breaches, with the club already hit with a 10-point penalty by the FA.
