Pontypridd United face historic 141 point deduction

Welsh football team Pontypridd United face a historic 141-point deduction after fielding ineligible players and breaking players' contracts, an independent panel has found.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) investigated the Cymru Premier team and the panel found them guilty of all 18 charges, including non-payment of players, breach of player contracts, failure to properly register players with the FAW and roster ineligible players.

Pontypridd United have denied all accusations.

The club has had six points deducted with immediate effect for offenses committed during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. An additional penalty of 135 points is suspended but will be imposed if they field ineligible players before the end of the 2024-25 season.

The panel also added a two-window transfer ban, meaning the club cannot sign any players before January 2025.

The total deduction of 141 points would be by far the largest in football history, with Luton Town, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio all suffering 30 penalty points.

Premier League side Everton were stripped of 10 points for breaching financial rules in November.

This season's six-point penalty means Pontypridd United are now bottom of the Championship.