Luton deducted ten points

The FA have fined Luton Town £50,000 and the League Two club will have ten points deducted for the coming season after problems with payments to agents.

Below is part of the FA statement:

There can be no doubt that Luton Town Football Club, between July 2004 and February 2007 was run with a flagrant disregard for the Regulations laid down to protect the game. At the heart of the allegations laid against both Luton Town Football Club and two of its Directors, Mr Bill Tomlins and Mr Derek Peter, was the routing of payments to agents not through The Football Association as ought to have occurred but through an associated company, namely Jayten Stadium Limited. This was brought to the attention of The Football Association by an employee of the club itself.

The person principally responsible for Luton Town Football Club's serious misconduct was, without doubt, Mr Bill Tomlins, the former Chairman of the Club. During the relevant period he worked virtually full time as the principal Director, and was effectively its Chief Executive Officer. It was he who disregarded rules that he knew were in place to protect the game despite being warned informally that it was wrong.

Of the former directors of Luton Town Football Club, the next most culpable was Mr Derek Peter, the Financial Director, a qualified accountant. It was he who, jointly with Mr Bill Tomlins, authorised the irregular payments from Jayten Stadium Limited to the Agents and indeed, continued to do so even after his fellow directors, Mr Richard Bagehot and Mr John Mitchell made it clear to both of them that all such payments should cease. That being said, the Regulatory Commission is satisfied that Mr Derek Peter was considerably less culpable than Mr Bill Tomlins.

Luton are considering an appeal.

The club ...is shocked by the severity of the sanctions specifically the points deuction for next season.

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