Sheffield United’s Bettis Says the Club Will Avoid a 12-Point Penalty Over Its Ownership Crisis

• Sheffield United chief executive Stephen Bettis says the Championship club does not expect to receive a 12-point deduction, even as the EFL investigates an insolvency event tied to the company that bought the club.
• COH Sports Bidco Limited agreed to buy Sheffield United for just over £100m in December 2024, but about £35m is still owed, and a winding-up petition against that company was filed by the club’s former owners in July.
• Bettis says the owners will “fight hard” if any sanction is imposed, while separate talks continue over reducing the outstanding sum owed to former owner Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad Al Saud.

An Hour in the Studio Defending the Takeover

Sheffield United’s chief executive spent an hour in the BBC Radio Sheffield studio answering questions about a takeover that could still cost the Blades 12 points. The EFL opened an investigation after the company used to buy the club, COH Sports Bidco Limited (CSBL), was placed into liquidation by the High Court in August.

CSBL agreed to purchase the Championship club for just over £100m in December 2024, but around £35m is still owed on the deal. In July, former owners United World filed a winding-up petition against CSBL, and insolvency events of that kind can trigger a 12-point penalty under EFL rules.

“The EFL are investigating the process and what has happened,” Bettis said. “The 12-point deduction only relates to if the club or a company within the group goes into insolvency. The advice our owners have got from their lawyers is that the club certainly didn’t go into insolvency: we’re funded, we’re paying all our bills on time.”

“The company that no longer is in the group has now had a winding up order against it. The position of our owners is that the winding up petition happened after that entity was no longer within the Sheffield United group. While it was within the group it never had a winding up order, it didn’t become insolvent, and their belief is that that stops the 12-point deduction happening.”

A Southampton Precedent, With an Important Difference

Bettis conceded the risk of a fine or a points deduction has not gone away. “I think if any decision is made to go down that path obviously the owners will fight that quite hard,” he said. BBC Sport contacted the EFL for comment and was told the investigation remains ongoing.

It is not a direct comparison, but in 2009 Southampton were docked 10 points by the EFL after their parent company went into administration, with the football club arguing there was no financial link between the two entities. “It wasn’t a parent company for Sheffield United when it happened, that’s quite an important difference,” Bettis said.

He added that the EFL’s pace so far points in United’s favour. “The EFL have been aware of this for four months, if it was clear cut we’d have been charged already, in my opinion. It’s clearly not clear cut and it continues to go on. The owners have cooperated fully with the EFL investigation. They are now deliberating internally and we’re waiting for their response.”

Asked directly whether that means the club is not expecting a points deduction, Bettis said: “From the advice the lawyers for our owners were given; that is what we’ve been told. I’m not going to sit here and categorically say we’re not at risk, until the verdict is given I’m not going to make myself look an idiot. There’s still that risk, whether it’s a fine, a points deduction, all of those are on the table still and until they are not we have to be open and understand that’s the situation.”

The Money Still Owed to Prince Abdullah

Separate from the EFL investigation, Bettis confirmed “discussions continue” between the Blades’ owners and former owner Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad Al Saud over a payment of nearly £35m, which the current ownership feels should be reduced. “The existing owners have issues with the previous owner, they are continuing to discuss and potentially feel the sum of money outstanding should be a lesser sum. Those discussions continue,” he said.

“I don’t believe for one minute the new owners are trying to not pay Prince Abdullah the monies outstanding, but think the sum needs to be adjusted,” Bettis added. He also said director Timothy Ryan has passed the fit and proper owner test with both the EFL and the Independent Football Regulator, and that he had been told the prospect of co-chair Steven Rosen facing disqualification by the EFL was “not an issue.”

For a club trying to push for promotion back to the Premier League, the uncertainty hangs over every point won on the pitch. Until the EFL concludes its investigation, Sheffield United’s season carries an asterisk that no run of good results can erase.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.

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