Matt Maher: West Brom mess exposes truth about the EFL and football's fair play rules

Not the Baggies, who just a few weeks ago were briefing with confidence they would remain within the spending limits.

Certainly not the EFL, which faces the nightmare scenario of seeing the outcome of the Championship season decided in a courtroom, rather than on the pitch.

Of all the questions posed since news of Albion’s alleged overspend first emerged on Monday, perhaps the biggest is what on earth took so long?

The Baggies were required to submit their accounts by December 31. Yet it is only now, in mid-April, with barely a fortnight of their campaign remaining, we are learning of a possible breach.

Word has it a hearing will take place before the end of the month, after which any points deduction will be imposed.

But the Baggies will still have course to appeal and there is no way that would be finished before the relegation battle concludes, at least on the pitch, two Saturdays from now.

The threat of Albion and other clubs entering the close season, still not knowing which division they will begin the next campaign, feels very real.

Regardless of how it ultimately unravels, crucial end-of-season fixtures are already destined to be played out without their full significance being truly understood.

What is Albion’s true current position in the table? Nobody knows until an independent commission decides, subject to appeal.

It’s all very different in the Premier League. There, just as in the EFL, clubs are required to submit their accounts by December 31 but notifications of any possible breaches are delivered in breach. This year, just as last, clubs knew by mid-January they were in the clear.

But then the Premier League has only 20 sets of accounts to review. The EFL has 72 and significantly fewer resources than its smaller yet considerably richer sibling.

If anything, the past week has simply been further confirmation of an uncomfortable truth, namely that the EFL, in its current guise, is not fit for purpose. It is simply too small an operation, in basic staffing terms, to deal efficiently with the ongoing cycle of financial troubles and rule transgressions by its clubs.

With so many issues and not enough people to deal with them, the biggest surprise might be it has actually taken until now to wind up with a situation where the entire finish to a season is left in the air.

If anyone was still in any doubt about the importance of an independent football regulator - a body to help the EFL out - this past week should have erased it.

The specific case against the Baggies, meanwhile, calls into question to what extent a club should be held accountable for the actions of former owners?

Whatever supporters think of Bilkul - and there is plenty of valid criticism which can be thrown in their direction when it comes to on-field performance - it is undoubtedly true they inherited a mess from Guochuan Lai.

It is one they have been very transparent about, holding briefings with the local press prior to the publication of each set of accounts.

The challenge of staying within the PSR boundaries is not one they have sought to hide. It is why you fully believe their conviction, when they say they have not broken the rules.

Essentially, this case all comes down to the interpretation of who is responsible for repaying a loan Lai took out to fund the day-to-day running of the Baggies during the final months of his reign.

Yet amid all the minute detail and legal wrangling, there is a bigger truth at play.

Namely that fair play rules, brought in to prevent clubs getting into trouble, could do nothing to prevent Lai putting the Baggies on course for financial oblivion.

Their greatest effect, instead, would appear to be in hampering those now trying to put the club back on an even financial keel. That simply doesn’t seem right.

It’s even worse at Sheffield Wednesday, where prospective new owners face the prospect of starting next season in League One on minus-15 points due to the need to pay the Owls’ own former rogue custodian and still biggest creditor, Dejon Chansiri, the agreed rate of 25p in the pound under EFL regulations.

Some will say rules are rules and it is true these are the regulations upon which clubs themselves signed-off.

Yet at what point does common sense come into play? Is it really in the EFL’s interests for Sheffield Wednesday to go bust? It is really fair to punish Albion for what is, in all frankness, a pretty marginal breach, considering what would have been the outcome without the club being taken over?

Former Villa chief executive Christian Purslow, who played a key role tidying up the chaos left by Tony Xia in 2018, has long argued owners who buy clubs in distress should be given a grace period where fair play regulations are relaxed to help get the house in order.

What has happened or is happening at Albion and Wednesday should only see that argument gain more supporters.

In the meantime, the EFL is faced with the prospect all three teams relegated from this season’s Championship will do so with point deductions.

It’s not a great look but perhaps the more concerning thought is this is merely the tip of an iceberg.

For all the regulations, Championship clubs lost a combined £411million in the 2023-24 season. Things may only get messier.