Sheffield United Faces 12-Point Deduction Risk After Liquidation
Sheffield United face the prospect of a 12-point deduction after the company that bought the club was placed into liquidation at the High Court on Wednesday – a hearing that lasted barely 10 seconds and had no representatives present from the owners.
COH Sports Bidco Limited (CSBL), fronted by United co-chairmen Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy, agreed a deal worth just over £100m to purchase the Championship side in December 2024. Around £35m of that fee remains unpaid.
United World, the vehicle through which former owner Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad Al Saud controlled the club, filed a winding-up petition against CSBL last month. On Wednesday, the court granted it.
United World later said in a statement it had made “every effort to resolve this matter amicably” but had “received no response”.
At Bramall Lane, the line from the club was measured but firm.
“Sheffield United Football Club is aware of today's hearing at the High Court,” a spokesperson said. “This is a matter between the current owners and former owner. The football club is in contact with the English Football League and the day-to-day operations at Sheffield United are unaffected.”
On paper, that is true. The company that has been wound up is not the football club itself. That distinction could yet be crucial.
A loophole – or a test case?
Under EFL rules, an insolvency event for the club usually triggers an automatic punishment. Here, though, a separate entity has gone under.
That technicality means there is no immediate, automatic points deduction.
But the situation is anything but straightforward.
In June, the shares in Sheffield United were moved out of CSBL and into a new US-based company, 1919 Partners LLC, which became the “parent company of Sheffield United”. In practical terms, CSBL stopped having any direct control over the club.
Yet the people in charge did not change. Rosen and Eltoukhy ran CSBL. They also control Sheffield United through 1919 Partners LLC. The link is obvious, even if the corporate structure has shifted.
The EFL has already signalled it is looking closely at what has unfolded. It said it would consider the implications of CSBL’s liquidation, “including whether any further action is required”.
A spokesman added that the league “continues to consider other regulatory matters following changes to the club's ownership structure and developments within the wider group”.
So while there is no automatic penalty, the threat of a 12-point deduction hangs over the club as a regulatory question rather than a box-ticking exercise.
A turbulent ownership saga
Sheffield United’s modern history cannot be told without Prince Abdullah.
The Saudi Arabian royal bought 50% of the club in 2013 and took full control in 2019 after a long and bitter High Court battle. His tenure brought promotion highs and financial strains, and it continues to cast a shadow.
The Blades were docked two points in the 2024-25 season for missed transfer payments dating back to the 2022-23 campaign, when Prince Abdullah was still in charge. That punishment underlined how old debts can return at awkward times.
When United World sold to CSBL, it was supposed to draw a line under that era. Instead, the sale has become the latest flashpoint.
CSBL paid an initial chunk of the fee on completion of the takeover. The first instalment, due last year, arrived late – only after a statutory demand and on the final day of the deadline.
This week’s High Court hearing centred on the remaining £35m, a debt CSBL has not disputed. With no defence offered in court and no representatives present, the judge moved quickly to liquidate the company.
Who knew what – and when?
The timing and transparency of the June share transfer into 1919 Partners LLC now sit at the heart of the regulatory storm.
BBC Sport understands neither the EFL nor the new Independent Football Regulator (IFR) had been told in advance that the shares were to be moved, though neither body has publicly commented on that point.
When approached earlier this week, the IFR confirmed it was in contact with Sheffield United to gather more information.
So the picture is this: the company that originally bought the club has been wound up; the same individuals now control the club through a new parent company; a £35m debt to the former owners is outstanding; and the EFL is weighing whether that tangled chain should still count as an insolvency event for which the club must pay on the pitch.
The legal hearing may have taken 10 seconds. The consequences for Sheffield United’s season could last far longer.
