La Liga 123 club Reus have been banned from professional football for the next three years and been hit by a €250k fine.
The club will now automatically be relegated from Spain's second tier with all their remaining scheduled fixtures seeing their opponents being rewarded three points.
The Catalan club had collected 21 points from their 21 league games this season but their recent fixtures against Las Palmas and Albacete were postponed over their ownership situation.
The club’s future has been under scrutiny amid widespread reports that their players had not been paid.
Joan Oliver, who helped guide the club into the second tier of Spanish football, could no longer commit to the investment levels required amid reports of unpaid wages and fees.
US Real Estate Investment Bankers, led by Russell C. Platt and Clifton V. Onolfo, had appeared to secure their short-term future by buying 99.7% of the club’s shares.
The club’s website describes Platt as “a founder of Morgan Stanley Real Estate and Chairman of Forum Partners and Greppon Advisor” and Onolfo as the “former Owner of Connecticut Wolves SC of USL Div 2 and Global Cities Co-Investment Real Estate Capital Markets Fortune.”
Reus have been given 15 days to appeal the decision.
