On this occasion, the EFL have acted as they said they would. A hard deadline was set, Wigan failed to meet it, they've been deducted points.
A lot is chucked at the EFL but in recent years they have got their act together. The directors' test is a lot stronger and we have to remember that they are administering for 72 clubs whereas the PL only has to look out for 20. They have fewer resources.
As for Wigan, it's hard to feel sorry for them. They should have bottomed out in 2020-21 when they finished 20th in League 1, staying up by a point, which would have been the wake up call they needed. In the end, it was the same old story that Bury faced in that they threw money they didn't have at getting promoted the season after. Wigan have been boom-and-bust for too long, especially since Dave Whelan left. I don't want to see them fold or anything, but they need to made an example of. You can't keep in that cycle of hoping another white knight is on the horizon.