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Huddersfield avoid EFL punishment for weakened team vs Birmingham

Nahki Wells of Huddersfield Town celebrates after Tom Lees of Sheffield Wednesday (not pictured) scores a own goal during the Championship playoff semi
Image: Nahki Wells of Huddersfield Town celebrates during the play-off win over Sheffield Wednesday

The EFL have announced that Huddersfield will not be punished for fielding a weakened side against Birmingham on April 29.

With a play-off place assured, Huddersfield made 10 changes for the game at St Andrew's and relegation-threatened Birmingham secured a crucial 2-0 victory.

Birmingham ended up finishing 19th and surviving while Blackburn, who finished two points behind the Blues, went down.

However, in a statement on Monday, the EFL said they would not be taking action against Huddersfield, but also said they may look into amending the rules in order to prevent the situation occurring again.

The statement read: "At its meeting on Thursday 11th May 2017, the EFL Board fully considered the matter of whether there had been a breach of EFL Regulation 24 by Huddersfield Town in their recent Sky Bet Championship match with Birmingham City.

Birmingham celebrate after they survive relegation
Image: A crucial win over Huddersfield helped Birmingham to retain their Championship place

"The regulation states that clubs must play their 'full strength' side in all fixtures unless some satisfactory reason is given.

"The Board closely examined the observations put forward by the club and a decision was taken to not bring a disciplinary charge against the club.

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"The EFL Board accepts that clubs' primary obligation will always be to themselves. However, there is a significant concern that by adopting this approach it could have a detrimental effect on the competitiveness and reputation of the League competition.

"Having considered all matters, there is no doubt in the Board's mind that Huddersfield Town could have fielded a 'stronger' team but, in the absence of a full and detailed definition of what constitutes 'full strength', there was sufficient scope for the club to make a significant number of changes to its starting line-up.

"As a result of Huddersfield's interpretation of the current regulation, the Board has requested the EFL Executive to consider amendments to ensure that the actions of any individual club cannot be seen to negatively impact the credibility and public perception of the competition."

Live Championship Play-Off Final

The Terriers will face Reading in next Monday's Championship play-off final at Wembley after beating Sheffield Wednesday on penalties last week in the semi-finals.

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