Dundee face points deduction

Dundee will start next season in the Scottish Premier League 10 points behind everyone else unless they have begun to come out of administration by the end of May, the 12 SPL clubs decided yesterday.

At a meeting held at Hampden Park, they agreed on a twin punishment system for clubs in administration. From 31 May there will be a 10-point deduction, while the club will also not be allowed to sign new players unless in "exceptional circumstances".

This directly applies to Dundee, who went into administration in November, and Motherwell, who have been in administration since April 2002 and are close to sorting out their finances.

After confusion over whether the meeting had decided to introduce the new regulations retrospectively, the SPL confirmed that the 31 May deadline would apply to clubs already in administration. A statement read: "Unless Dundee and/or Motherwell have started the legal process of coming out of administration the penalties will apply for next season."