Southampton have effectively been relegated from the Championship or second division of English football when league officials docked the club 10 points for going into administration earlier this month.
The south coast team announced three weeks ago that their holding company, Southampton Leisure Holdings Ltd, had appointed administrators but said they did not expect to be deducted points as the football club was unaffected.
However, the league investigated before announcing on its website that officials considered the club and the holding company to be "inextricably linked as one economic entity" and the usual penalty should be imposed.
Southampton were facing probable relegation anyway, second-last in the division on 44 points, four adrift of safety, with two games remaining.
The league said that if the club avoided relegation, the 10-point penalty would be imposed and they would go down.
If they go down automatically then the 10-point deduction will come into force next season.
That means Southampton would begin life in the third tier of English football for the first time for 50 years, on minus 10 points.
The 1976 FA Cup winners dropped out of the Premier League in 2005 after a 27-year stay in the top flight.
