Sheffield Wednesday face 15-point penalty, bidder told

Wednesday bidder told club face 15-point penaltyImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Sheffield Wednesday have been in administration since 24 October and been deducted 18 points this seasonPublished23 minutes agoThe EFL has informed the preferred bidder for Sheffield Wednesday that the club will start next season in League One with a 15-point penalty.Arise Capital Partners, a consortium led by David Storch, was named preferred bidder last month after a previous takeover of the administration-hit club fell through.Storch said in a statement that the group wants the EFL to recognise the "unique" nature of the League One-bound club's situation.However, BBC Sport understands that the American private equity company's £20m bid, when broken down, will represent about 6p in the pound to the unsecured creditors - of which former owner Dejphon Chansiri would be the major beneficiary.This falls notably short of the 25p in the pound required to avoid a 15-point deduction next season."We have now been informed that a 15-point penalty is set to be imposed at the start of next season. We fundamentally disagree with this decision," said Storch."We also requested the opportunity for this matter to be reviewed through independent arbitration - going as far as offering to cover all associated legal costs ourselves in the interest of transparency and fairness. That request has been denied."What makes this situation particularly difficult is that it is entirely unique. A significant portion of the club's debt sits with its former owner who has not agreed to write down or restructure that debt."We have made repeated attempts, through the administrators, to engage with Mr Chansiri in order to find a constructive resolution. Those requests have gone unanswered."Storch said the facilities at the club's Hillsborough home are "inadequate" and require "significant and urgent" work.Despite the ongoing difficult...