The EFL has confirmed that Macclesfield Town will be relegated to the National League after the competition organisers won an appeal against a points deduction.

Macclesfield had originally been given a six point penalty, with four points suspended, due to breaching regulations regarding the non-payment of wages. However, following a ruling from an independent panel, the decision has been made to apply the four point suspension to the current campaign.  

An EFL spokesperson explained: “An independent arbitration panel has upheld the EFL’s appeal in respect of the outcome of an independent disciplinary commission who in June 2020 had considered misconduct charges brought against Macclesfield Town.

“The charges related to failing to pay a number of players on the applicable payment dates due in March 2020, failing to act with utmost good faith in respect of matters with the EFL and for breaching an order, requirement, direction or instruction of the league.

“The arbitration panel confirmed that the two-point suspended sporting sanction activated on 19 June 2020 from previous proceedings will stand and in addition the four-point deduction, originally suspended in the latest proceedings and only to be activated in the event of a further breach of regulation 63.7 during season 2020-21, will be activated immediately and applied to the 2019-20 table.

“Today’s outcome leaves Macclesfield Town in 24th position in the table on 19 points with a points per game (PPG) total of 23.62, resulting in the club’s relegation into the National League.”

As a result of the new ruling, Stevenage will remain in League Two with Macclesfield replacing the side in the relegation zone. During the 2019/20 campaign, Macclesfield have been deducted a total of 17 points through three separate disciplinary cases.

The verdict will be a bitter blow to Macclesfield fans, especially considering the League 2 campaign was scheduled to get underway on September 12, just over a month away. Moreover, its relegation ends the team’s two-year stay in England’s fourth tier following Macclesfield’s promotion in 2018.  

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