However, the League One club have escaped a points deduction. Danny Cowley’s men agonisingly fell short of the play-offs after losing 1-0 to Accrington in May 2021. The Blues entered the Fratton Park fixture in sixth place, knowing victory would seal their presence in the semi-finals for a third straight campaign. They subsequently dropped to an eighth-placed finish after Adam Phillips’ first-half winner for the visitors, with Oxford United overtaking them to claim the final qualification spot. Now, following a Tweet by owner Andy Holt, it has emerged that Accrington’s Paul Smyth was ineligible for the match. The on-loan QPR striker was named as a substitute, yet, crucially, was unused. As a consequence, Accrington have subsequently been fined £5,700 rather than issued with a points deduction. An EFL spokesperson said: ‘Further to disclosures of confidential information made earlier by Accrington Stanley owner Mr Holt, the EFL can confirm that the club were issued with a fine for naming an ineligible player on the team-sheet in the 2020-21 final day fixture versus Portsmouth. ‘The player in question was an unused substitute in the match, hence why there was no sporting sanction. ‘For clarity, the league publishes all decisions on regulatory breaches to its 72 members, but reserves public announcements for more significant and non-technical breaches.’ In the Tweet by Holt earlier today, which has since been deleted, he also details a fine of more than £7,000 for breaching Covid protocol. In an accompanying photograph of the invoice received by the Football League, it reveals a total of £15,280 is due for payment, which includes VAT. The EFL spokesman added: ‘In respect of Covid protocol breaches referenced by Mr Holt, all sanctions had been agreed by Clubs affected in line with EFL Agreed Decision regulations. ‘Details of these breaches will remain private and confidential in line with EFL policy.’ A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron The News has launched a subscription offer which gives you unlimited access to all of our Pompey coverage, starting at less than 14p a day. You can subscribe here to get the latest news from Fratton Park - and to support our local team of expert Pompey writers.
