Sheffield United Faces 12-Point Deduction Threat After Liquidation
Sheffield United face the threat of a 12-point deduction after the company used to buy the club was placed into liquidation by the High Court – a case that lasted barely 10 seconds but could shape their season.
COH Sports Bidco Limited (CSBL), the vehicle that agreed to purchase the Championship side for just over £100m in December 2024, still owed around £35m on the deal. United World, the club’s former owners, filed a winding-up petition last month and on Wednesday the court brought CSBL to an abrupt end.
There was no sign of CSBL at the hearing. No lawyers. No defence. Just a swift ruling.
United World later said in a statement that it had made “every effort to resolve this matter amicably” but had “received no response” from the new ownership group.
Inside Bramall Lane, the line was calm, almost pointedly so. “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, that is true. The club itself has not gone bust. But the picture around it is anything but straightforward.
A liquidation, a loophole – and a looming risk
Because CSBL is a separate company and not the football club, its liquidation does not trigger an automatic English Football League punishment for an insolvency event. That is the technicality keeping Sheffield United’s points column intact for now.
The EFL, though, has not parked the issue. It said it would consider the implications of CSBL’s collapse, “including whether any further action is required”.
A spokesman added that the league is also looking at “other regulatory matters” linked to recent changes in the club’s ownership structure and developments within the wider group.
That is where the story twists.
In June, 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”. In practical terms, CSBL no longer controlled the club by the time it was wound up.
Yet the connection has not disappeared. CSBL was fronted by United co-chairmen Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy, and those same figures now control Sheffield United through 1919 Partners LLC. The faces at the top are the same, even if the corporate nameplate has changed.
The £35m at the heart of Wednesday’s case is not in dispute. The new owners have not denied the debt. This is not an argument over whether the money is owed – only over the consequences of it not being paid on time.
A long-running ownership saga
For Sheffield United supporters, this is just the latest chapter in a decade of off-field turbulence.
Saudi Arabian Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad Al Saud first bought 50% of the club in 2013, then took full control in 2019 after a lengthy High Court battle with former co-owner Kevin McCabe. His tenure brought promotion highs but also controversy and financial strain.
Even after United World – the company through which Prince Abdullah owned the club – agreed to sell to CSBL, the fallout continued. During the 2024-25 season, the Blades were docked two points for missed transfer payments dating back to 2022-23, when Prince Abdullah was still in charge.
CSBL did make an initial payment when the takeover completed. But the first scheduled instalment under the deal arrived late, only turning up after a statutory demand and on the deadline. The latest dispute, culminating in Wednesday’s liquidation, centred on another £35m instalment that remained unpaid.
The pressure finally told in court. CSBL folded. The question now is how far that collapse reaches into Bramall Lane.
Regulators playing catch-up
The timing and secrecy around the share transfer to 1919 Partners LLC have raised further questions.
BBC Sport understands neither the EFL nor the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) had been told in advance that the shares were being moved into the new US-based company. Neither body has commented publicly on that specific point, but it has clearly triggered fresh scrutiny.
When approached earlier this week, the IFR confirmed it was in contact with the club to gather more information.
So the threat of a 12-point deduction hangs in the air, not as an automatic sanction but as a possible outcome of regulatory interpretation. Sheffield United insist day-to-day football operations are unaffected. The league and the IFR are still joining the dots.
The season will tell whether this is just a messy boardroom dispute in the background – or the moment that drags the club’s campaign into a fight it never planned to have.
