Sheffield United Faces 12-Point Deduction After Liquidation
Sheffield United face the threat of a 12-point deduction after the company that bought the club was placed into liquidation at the High Court – in a hearing that lasted barely 10 seconds.
COH Sports Bidco Limited (CSBL), the vehicle that agreed a deal worth just over £100m for the Championship side in December 2024, still owed about £35m on the purchase. That unpaid chunk has now dragged the club’s ownership saga back into the courts and straight onto the English Football League’s radar.
A club in limbo, an owner in liquidation
The winding-up petition was issued last month by United World, the former ownership group through which Saudi Arabian Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad Al Saud controlled Sheffield United.
CSBL, headed by current United co-chairmen Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy, did not send any representatives to Wednesday’s High Court hearing. The judge moved swiftly: CSBL was ordered into liquidation almost as soon as the case was called.
United World later released a pointed statement. It said they had made “every effort to resolve this matter amicably” but had “received no response” from CSBL over the outstanding payment.
The club itself struck a more cautious tone. A Sheffield United spokesperson said: “Sheffield United Football Club is aware of today’s hearing at the High Court. 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 the pitch, nothing changes this morning. Behind the scenes, everything is up for debate.
Why a 12-point deduction is on the table
At first glance, an insolvency event for a company tied so closely to the club looks like the classic trigger for a heavy EFL sanction. Under league rules, a club that enters administration can be hit with a 12-point deduction.
But this is not straightforward.
The company that has been wound up is CSBL – the original buying entity – not Sheffield United Football Club itself. That distinction matters. Because it is a separate company, there is no automatic EFL punishment.
The EFL acknowledged the complexity in a brief statement, saying 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 the threat of a points deduction hangs there, but it is not yet a certainty. The rules were written for clubs going bust, not for a parent company being liquidated after shifting its shareholding elsewhere.
The ownership maze: from Prince Abdullah to 1919 Partners
This latest flashpoint is the latest chapter in a decade of turbulence at Bramall Lane.
Prince Abdullah first bought 50% of Sheffield United in 2013 and only gained full control in 2019 after a long and bitter High Court battle with former co-owner Kevin McCabe. His tenure brought both promotion highs and financial controversy.
The Blades were docked two points during the 2024-25 season for missed transfer payments dating back to the Prince’s reign in 2022-23. Those breaches happened before CSBL took charge but were punished on the current regime’s watch.
When United World sold to CSBL, it was supposed to draw a line under that era. Instead, the financial legacy has bled into the new ownership.
CSBL made an initial payment when the sale completed, but the first scheduled instalment – due last year – arrived late and only after a statutory demand, sent on the final day of the deadline. The £35m at the centre of Wednesday’s case is another instalment. CSBL has not denied that the money is owed.
Then the story took another turn.
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”. From that moment, CSBL no longer controlled the club.
On paper, that shields the football club from the direct impact of CSBL’s liquidation. In reality, the same people sit at the top. Rosen and Eltoukhy, who fronted CSBL, now control Sheffield United through 1919 Partners LLC.
So while Wednesday’s court ruling targeted CSBL, the connection to the Blades remains obvious.
Regulators playing catch-up
The timing and transparency of that share transfer now sit under the microscope.
BBC Sport understands that neither the EFL nor the new Independent Football Regulator (IFR) had been informed in advance that the move to 1919 Partners LLC was about to happen. Neither body has publicly commented on that point, but the IFR confirmed earlier this week that it is in contact with the club to gather more information.
That leaves Sheffield United operating under live scrutiny from two regulators, with one ownership vehicle in liquidation and another, freshly installed, now officially in charge.
The football side of the club insists it is “unaffected”. The paperwork tells a different story. The next move belongs to the EFL – and it will decide whether this is a clever piece of corporate restructuring or an insolvency event that should carry a sporting price.
