Birmingham City are set to be handed a nine-point deduction for breaching Profitability and Sustainability rules.
The Blues' legal team and the EFL appeared before a hearing on Monday and the final decision has been agreed by the three-man disciplinary panel.
They will, however, avoid a fine or a summer transfer embargo as part of the punishment.
While Gary Monk's side will be allowed to appeal the decision, the points deduction means that they will plummet from 13th in the table to 18th - just five points above the Championship relegation zone.
It means that the season has been somewhat turned on its head with some tipping the Blues to be a dark horse to sneak into the play-off places.
However it now seems that consolidating their status in the second tier will be a satisfactory end to a turbulent campaign.
But while Birmingham will now be battling to avoid the drop, it also could have an affect on the teams around them in the table.
As a result of the reported points deduction, QPR will now move up to 17th in the table - with the Blues moving to 18th.
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This means that there's now one more team in the cushion between the Hoops and the drop zone, while Brentford will also move up a place to 12th in the table.
The points deduction could also work to the benefit of Millwall.
The Lions are embroiled in a relegation scrap at the bottom of the table and find themselves just one point above the drop zone in 20th place.
Birmingham City's points deduction would take them to 41 points - just four points above Neil Harris' side, meaning that the Blues could well be dragged into the scrap with the Lions.
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