Jack Kenmare
A club in Europe have been deducted 94 points ahead of the upcoming season and are 'in danger of being excluded from all competitions' as their future hangs in the balance.
FCU Craiova have been slapped with one of the biggest points deductions in football history by the Romanian Football Federation [FRF] amid financial problems.
It is said the club has failed to settle outstanding debts owed to former players, coaches, and employees, as well as financial obligations to rival club Dinamo Bucuresti related to a Romanian Cup match.
They have been gradually penalised in recent months by the FRF Disciplinary and Ethics Commission, according to DigiSport, and at a recent meeting, it was confirmed FCU Craiova would begin the Liga III season with -94 points.
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In fact, they must present proof of payments to former coaches and players by September 3, 2025 to avoid further points deductions and imminent exclusion from FRF/LPF/AJF competitions.
Despite their ongoing troubles, which include being denied a licence to play in Romania's second tier, club owner Adrian Mititelu remains positive.
"We will not be excluded," he told Golazo. "The situation will be resolved one way or another."
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Mititelu added: "We have already contested every point deduction and the refusal to be accepted into League 2 at the Court. The files are pending, so their decisions cannot produce effects while they are contested."
The report claims Mititelu will try and stabilise the club's financial situation by selling a plot of land worth €15 million, a transaction for which he is 'expected to sign the documents as soon as possible.'
Remarkably, another club in Romania have received a heavier points deduction than FCU Craiova. During the 2015/16 campaign, Caransebeș were handed a 96-point penalty by the Romanian Football Federation.
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Here are some other notable cases.
When Leeds were in League One in the 2007/08 season, they started the campaign with -15 points. Football League clubs voted on their fate for failure to comply with rules on insolvency, but they still finished in the play-off places.
A year later and the Cherries were hit with another almighty points deduction for the second consecutive season.
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This time it was the tune of -17 because they were still in administration, but, miraculously, Eddie Howe kept them in League Two after taking the job in the middle of the season.
The Yorkshire outfit had the very same punishment as Bournemouth in League Two, but they too stayed up, with Mark Robins leading them to 14th.
At the time, clubs in Italy only received two points for a win, and so the 18-point penalty Genoa received for bribery in 1960 was monumental. They also had ten points taken off them for the following season, though it was later reduced to seven.
Next up is the only German representative in this list. A bribery scandal took place in 1971, with Arminia Bielefeld being hit with a 19-point deduction. They only won six games and finished bottom on 19 points.
The Rams had an eventful autumn in 2021, where they were hit with a 12-point deduction for going into administration, as well as a further nine for breaching EFL accounting rules.
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Without the docking of points, they would have finished 17th and avoided relegation from the Championship.
A trio of Serie A clubs had 30 points removed from their total in the 2005/06 season due to their involvement in the shocking Calciopoli scandal, while Juventus ended up in the second tier for their wrongdoing.
In the same season where Bournemouth and Rotherham received deductions, Luton Town had a massive 30 points taken off them. There were two separate offences, ten for illegal payments to agents and a further two for not leaving administration properly.
The Hatters would have had 56 points without the deduction, but ended up finishing bottom and sinking into the National League.