Wangaratta has been sensationally stripped of its 2022 flag after an Ovens and Murray board meeting on Monday night.
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The Border Mail believes the board dropped the bombshell announcement after the league held a special general meeting to discuss any possible further sanctions after Wangaratta was found guilty of breaching the salary cap earlier this month.
An official announcement from the O&M is expected before lunch on Tuesday.
The Magpies recently sent shockwaves throughout the Ovens and Murray after being found guilty of breaching the league's $125,000 salary cap last year by $28,000.
An audit of the club's 2022 Allowable Player Payments (APP) discovered the breach.
The club was handed down three major sanctions which will have huge ramifications on the Magpies for the upcoming season.
The sanctions included a $28,000 fine which was the same amount as the salary cap breach.
The Magpies are also ineligible to receive premiership points for the first two home-and-away matches of the season.
The Magpies play fierce rivals Wangaratta Rovers and Wodonga in the opening two rounds.
Their Total Team Points have been reduced to 36 from the league's standard of 40.
The sanctions were handed down by the AFL NEB Disciplinary Committee after a hearing on Thursday, March 16.
The Magpies self-reported the breach and decided against lodging an appeal after the sanctions were handed down.
The decision divided league followers who questioned whether the sanctions were severe enough to deter future breaches of the salary cap from any club.
In the wake of the AFL NEB Disciplinary Committee sanctions, the O&M board decided to call a special meeting last night (Monday) to discuss whether the Magpies should be stripped of the flag.
In one of the biggest decision in the O&M's 130-year history, the board decided to strip Wangaratta of its flag.
Yarrawonga, who lost the grand final to the Magpies by three points was also audited over the off-season with no anomalies found.
The Border Mail believes that Yarrawonga won't be awarded the flag and that there will be no winner of the 2022 premiership.
In a bizarre circumstance, Lavington is still officially the reigning premiers after the 2020-21 seasons were ruined by Covid.
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