Gazette comment: Why the EFL should be supporting Blackpool FC, NOT considering a points deduction...

The Football League, or the EFL as it now prefers to be called, had good reason for introducing its punitive points deduction system for financial irregularities.

By Gillian Parkinson

Published 15th Feb 2019, 07:04 BST

Updated 15th Feb 2019, 08:07 BST

Blackpool fans protest outside the stadium

Too many clubs spending way beyond their means, shady owners and even shadier tax dealings meant they had to act.

Coventry City was the last club to feel the force of this back in 2013.

Now the EFL has to decide whether to take Blackpool FC down the same route. And while many fans would say a 12-point deduction is a small price to pay for a change of ownership, we say that would be absurd.

The goings-on at Blackpool have been played out right under the noses of the Preston-based EFL.

The club, managers, and players have not benefited from the financial and court-room wranglings.

Blackpool FC and its fans have had enough to put up with over the past few years. So, for the EFL to impose further sanctions would be not just cruel, but spiteful.

It’s time to do the right thing by one of your oldest and most famous clubs - offer support not a points deduction.