tvoc wrote:Only going from memory but didn't Wigan re-negotiate several contracts - extending length and some back-loading - to reduce their current year commitments and free up space for mid season signings? A breach of the spirit rather than the actual?
I do recall then owner Dave Whelan saying in a TV interview that they'd be no bitching and moaning from them if Wigan finished in a relegation spot. Not sure I believed that but at least it was on the record should there be a change of heart later.
From memory, I think the £250k figure is what they would have breached by had the contracts not been messed around with in the way they were. But yes, they were penalised for a breach of the spirit of the cap, hence the reason the punishment wasn't larger.