Hull City are relegated but Barnsley save themselves from Championship relegation... probably

Hull City were relegated from the Championship last night but Barnsley have put their fate in the hands of the lawyers after a dramatic late win at promotion-chasing Brenford.
CRUCIAL: Callum Styles (right) celebrates scoring Barnsley's first goal at BrentfordCRUCIAL: Callum Styles (right) celebrates scoring Barnsley's first goal at Brentford
CRUCIAL: Callum Styles (right) celebrates scoring Barnsley's first goal at Brentford

The end-of-season league table has Gerhard Struber's Reds, seemingly dead and buried when the season resumed after the coronavirus, one place above the relegation zone but the regular 2019-20 campaign has finished without any firm conclusions at the bottom of the table.

Clarke Odour's late goal secured a 2-1 win which took the Reds above Wigan Athletic and Charlton Athletic in the table, but the final standings will be decided not by footballers, but lawyers.

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Disciplinary cases involving Wigan and Sheffield Wednesday could alter the table.

Now the season is over, Wigan are officially 23rd, their 12-point deduction for going into administration having been applied. However the Latics, who drew 1-1 with Fulham, plan to appeal, arguing force majeure as a result of the coronavirus.

Administrator Gerald Krasner revealed the case is due to be held a week on Friday. The former Leeds United chairman also said the Lancashire club had selected a preferred bidder from five parties who have made an offer for the club.

Barnsley were helped by neighbours Leeds United's emphatic 4-0 defeat of Charlton Athletic as home coach Marcelo Bielsa kept his promise of respecting the competition on the night the champions received their trophy.

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Sheffield Wednesday are still awaiting the outcome of their disciplinary hearing over the timing and circumstances of the sale and lease-back of their Hillsborough ground to club owner Dejphon Chansiri. The case is without precedent, but potential punishments include a points deduction of up to 21 points.

The Owls were beaten 2-1 at home to Middlesbrough, who thereby guaranteed their safety on the field, and finished eight points above the relegation zone, assuming Wigan's appeal is unsuccessful.

Nothing, it seems, can save Hill, who dropped out of the division with a whimper, beaten 3-0 to cap a miserable and self-inflicted collapse which saw them finish bottom of the table.

Hull won just once in the league after New Year's Day, paying a heavy price for selling top goalscorer Kamil Grosicku and Jarrod Bowen on January's deadline day, only bringing in cut-price replacements who could not come close to replacing their prodigious output.

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With the club having been on the market for years without anyone meeting the asking price, the future is uncertain for them as it is for Grant McCann, a coach with a good track record in League One, the division they are heading to, but whose position has been questioned for some time now after failing to address his side's alarming slump.

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