The League One and Two salary caps have been scrapped following an arbitration hearing in front of an independent panel last month, the EFL has confirmed.

The PFA challenged the legitimacy of the salary cap, which it saw as “unlawful and unenforceable”, after its introduction in August.

The news is a big boost for the Blues, should they remain in League One for 2021/22, as the club faced losing some of its competitive advantage due to the limits imposed by the salary cap with general manager of football operations Lee O’Neill having admitted the coming summer would be one of transition on that front.

Town were among the clubs to vote against the proposal in the summer.

An EFL statement reads: “An independent arbitration panel has upheld a claim from the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) that the EFL was in breach of the constitution of the Professional Football Negotiating and Consultative Committee (PFNCC) by introducing ‘Squad Salary Caps’.

“In August 2020 following an extensive and comprehensive consultation process with EFL clubs, Leagues One and Two voted to adopt new financial controls that replaced the previous Salary Cost Management Protocols (SCMP).

“The PFA argued that the PFNCC’s remit to consider matters relating to the employment of, and any associated rules and regulations to professional players employed by EFL clubs, was not properly considered as part of the process to introduce the new rules and as a result served a notice of claim to that effect.

“The EFL and PFA then agreed to refer that matter to arbitration and after hearing submissions from both parties, an independent panel concluded that the EFL was in breach of its agreement as a member of the PFNCC.

“At the time of the adoption of the Salary Cap Rules, the EFL included a provision to ensure that any decision such as this would have the effect of reinstating the SCMP rules that were in operation during season 2019/20, which links player related expenditure to turnover.

“The EFL will now discuss the matter of financial controls and implications linked to this outcome at a series of meetings with its member clubs later this week.”

The PFA was unsurprisingly delighted by the news: The PFA welcomes the fact that the salary cap rules are automatically withdrawn and hopes to open constructive dialogue to agree reasonable cost control measures for the future.

“Like everyone involved in football, the PFA wants to see sustainable clubs at all levels.

“The PFA believes it is now in the best interest of the leagues, the clubs, and the players to work together and agree on rules that promote financial stability.”

Photo: Matchday Images

jas0999 added 18:02 - Feb 9 Marcus has nowhere to hide. Bet he's not happy.
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Dissboyitfc added 18:30 - Feb 9 Great news, really pleased to hear this!! Town were amongst the clubs who voted against this in the first place! What was wrong with the original ffps? that should have been implemented with the understanding that anybody spending beyond their means forfiet points so flouting the rules would have no benefit to anyone who doesnt adhere to the rules!
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dirtydingusmagee added 20:31 - Feb 9 this will have made Evans a#se squeek . Wonder if he is''fully committed '' now, ?
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mervetheswerve added 21:02 - Feb 9 How much more have we got to put with lambert another shambolic performence troy Parrot must wonder what he has done coming to play for this lot. I wonder what the hell is going on behind the scenes at portman rd its getting beyond the joke now..feeling sick as a parrot
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itfcserbia added 08:00 - Feb 10 Literary the worst possible news for Marcus.
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itfcserbia added 08:01 - Feb 10 *Literally of course, dumb autocorrect has been reading too much from Shambert lately
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