Leicestershire have been handed eight points out of the 27 deducted in the County Championship, the BBC reported. Despite this, the club's status in the top division remains in doubt as the 19-point penalty remains in force, with the club announcing an appeal.
The original penalty was imposed following a breach of the rules regarding the pitch in relation to the victory over Glamorgan in August, and was published on 16 September. The change occurred after the regulator raised the question of whether the 19-point penalty, imposed in accordance with the conditions of the County Championship, had been taken into account in the initial ruling. The regulator stated that the issue was 'raised before the County Championship Discipline Panel (CDP) in the interest of fairness and transparency'.
According to the conditions of the County Championship, clubs found guilty of a pitch assessed as poor or below average, if the CDP upholds the charge, will not receive any points from the match in question. Leicestershire were awarded 19 points in the match against Glamorgan — 16 for the win and three bonus points — which were removed but remain the subject of the appeal. The CDP originally applied an additional deduction of eight points, with a further eight points conditional for one year, alongside a fine of £5,000. In the revised decision, the conditional penalty of eight points and the fine remain, while the seasonal deduction of eight points has been removed.
Without the deducted 27 points, Leicestershire would have finished the season two points above the relegation zone. After the adjustment of eight points, but with the 19-point penalty still in place, the club is 17 points behind Essex. If the appeal is unsuccessful, Leicestershire will be relegated.
In the revised decision, the panel stated that in the 162-page document prepared by the regulator for the court prior to the first hearing on 12 September, 'there was no mention of the conditions of the County Championship, and specifically no mention of Condition 16.2'. The panel added that its 'clear view' was that 'eight points was an appropriate deduction and no more'.
The panel concluded: 'Regrettably, this is the limit of the court's authority given that, as both parties agree, it cannot in any way interfere with the applicability of Condition 16.2.' It added that 'if it had such authority, this court would clearly have indicated that it would reduce the point deduction to eight points, as ruled in its original decision'.
The regulator stated that 'following the initial hearing on 11 September and the decision of 15 September, the question arose as to whether the separate deduction of 19 points, in accordance with the conditions, should have been taken into account when the CDP considered the proportionality of the penalty imposed'. The regulator added that the CDP 'has now considered this question and adjusted its penalty decision accordingly'.
The regulator clarified that the revised decision applies only to the penalty imposed by the CDP, and does not affect the finding that the charge for breaching the bylaws was upheld, nor the 19-point deduction imposed in accordance with the conditions.
The statement from Chief Executive Emma White states that the club's position remains 'unchanged' following the revision. White highlighted that the panel made it clear that the latest hearing and revised decision, which applied only to the penalty, were not part of an appeal process. 'Our position on the charge remains unchanged. We continue to believe that it should not have been upheld and that we should not have suffered the point deduction', she stated. She added that the club is still planning to appeal, focusing on the process and the evidence base upon which the panel made its decision. Both the regulator and Leichestershire have stated that they will not comment further while the appeal process is ongoing.
