Sheffield United Faces 12-Point Deduction Amid Liquidation
Sheffield United face the prospect of a 12-point deduction after the company used to buy 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 to purchase the Championship side in December 2024, still owed about £35m on the takeover. That unpaid chunk has now dragged the Blades into another off-field storm.
Takeover vehicle liquidated, questions mount
Last month, United World – the former ownership group – issued a winding-up petition against CSBL over the outstanding money. On Wednesday, CSBL offered no defence and no explanation. The company, headed by Sheffield United co-chairmen Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy, was unrepresented in court.
It was over almost as soon as it began. The judge ordered CSBL into liquidation.
United World later released a statement saying it had made "every effort to resolve this matter amicably" but had "received no response". The silence from CSBL has only deepened the sense of unease around Bramall Lane.
Inside the club, the message is one of separation.
"Sheffield United Football Club is aware of today's hearing at the High Court," a club spokesperson said. "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 paper, they have a point. The company that has been wound up is not the football club itself. Under English Football League rules, that distinction matters.
No automatic penalty – but a regulatory minefield
Because a separate company, rather than Sheffield United, has entered liquidation, there is no automatic EFL sanction for an insolvency event. No instant points deduction. No immediate punishment.
That does not mean the Blades are in the clear.
The EFL said it would now assess the fallout from CSBL’s collapse, "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".
Those “changes” are at the heart of the case.
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 South Yorkshire club.
On Wednesday, the court case targeted CSBL. But the link to Sheffield United remains obvious: Rosen and Eltoukhy, who ran CSBL, also control 1919 Partners LLC – and therefore still control the club.
BBC Sport understands neither the EFL nor the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) had been informed in advance that the share transfer was going to take place. Neither body has commented publicly on that point, but the IFR has confirmed it is in contact with the club to gather more information.
The question now is whether regulators view the liquidation and the share shuffle as part of the same story – and whether that story triggers disciplinary action.
A troubled recent history
This is not Sheffield United’s first brush with off-field turmoil.
Saudi Arabian Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad Al Saud first bought 50% of the club in 2013 and only took full control in 2019 after a long, bitter High Court battle. His tenure was marked by dispute and, eventually, by sanction.
United World, the company through which Prince Abdullah owned the Blades, sold the club to CSBL. But the sale did not wipe the slate clean. During the 2024-25 season, Sheffield United were docked two points for missed transfer payments dating back to 2022-23, under Prince Abdullah’s watch.
CSBL did make an initial payment when the takeover completed. Problems started with the first instalment due afterwards. That payment arrived late, only after a statutory demand and right up against the deadline.
The latest High Court hearing centred on another £35m that CSBL accepts it still owes. The debt is not disputed. It is simply unpaid.
That unpaid sum has now sunk the takeover vehicle, thrown the club’s ownership structure under the microscope, and left the EFL and IFR wrestling with a complex, fast-moving case.
The football side of Sheffield United may be “unaffected” for now. The table says otherwise if a 12-point deduction lands.
