Schalke threatened with points deduction ahead of Bundesliga return

Negative equity - when you owe more on a loan than your asset is currently worth - could hinder Schalke ahead of the new German topflight season.

Photo: Christof Koepsel/Getty Images.

FC Schalke 04 have been threatened with a three-point deduction ahead of the Bundesliga season, according to Kicker.de.

The reason behind the potential sanction is due their negative equity, with the club pushing for a fairer distribution of the TV rights money. 

As things stand, Schalke are the only team in the Bundesliga to have negative equity, roughly around €100million in the red to be exact. 

Accordingly, the German topflight's equity capital requirements mean that Schalke are threatened with a three-point deduction.

In order to overcome their financial issues, Schalke relies on a cooperative scheme, where members invest money into shares.

Of their ultimate goal of €50million, the Royal Blues have only amassed €8million accumulated by 9,000 share investors.