Clubs can now find themselves docked crucial points if they fail to keep their off-field affairs in order.
So why shouldn't on-field matters, or more precisely the pitch itself, also come under close scrutiny when considering the best interests of the game?
Because in what is essentially the entertainment business, football fans paying good money are being cheated when the playing surface is simply not up to the job.
Wigan's pudding of a pitch is, in no uncertain terms, an embarrassment. In such palatial surroundings, its the footballing equivalent of walking through the grandiose doors of Buckingham Palace and stepping on tatty, threadbare carpets.
Even Shrek would think twice before claiming this swampland home!
Chatting to Latics midfielder Jimmy Bullard after the game, he openly admitted the two-inch layer of slime hugging the surface - there really is no better description - is seriously hampering Wigan's promotion hopes.
Good. Because until the issue is addressed at top level, there has to be some sort of punishment for a blatant disregard to the platform on which players worth millions of pounds are asked to play the beautiful game.
Believe me, no bush tucker trial that Ant and Dec dream up can be as demanding as trudging up and down such a quagmire for 90 energy-sapping minutes.
And don't be lulled into the false sense of security that one day of heavy rain was to blame. I'm told its been like this for months - and that's before the egg chasers start scrumming down on it!
So all things considered, it should be no surprise this Lancashire hot pot ended up in a frustrating stalemate.
Every credit to the players as as they constantly tried to get some sort of passing game going while wading through treacle.
Class acts like Robbie Blake and Glen Little rely on a few blades of grass to play their natural game, while Ian Moore needs a rolling ball in order to pressurise defenders into mistakes as only he can.
Likewise, Wigan possess two lively strikers in Jason Roberts and Nathan Ellington. But any advantage their pace offered was totally nullified by the fact the ball often slowed their progress.
Throw a frustrating, whistle-happy performance from referee Uriah Rennie into the messy mix and perhaps the stalemate was inevitable.
Certainly Rennie settled a few gurgling stomachs in the Clarets defence when he disallowed Jason De Vos' towering header in the first half for pushing, when few others saw any offence of note.
But he made countless other baffling decisions on a filthy afternoon out that made a day at home with the missus sound like a reasonable alternative!
It was never going to be pretty and the tone was set early on when Bullard and then Ellington both tried their luck with shots that had Wigan fans dotted behind the goal scarpering for cover.
Burnley too were struggling to find any rhythm and a promising interchange between Blake and Little teed-up the latter, before the ball agonisingly refused to roll that extra yard and provide an opening.
It took 21 minutes for either goalkeeper to be tested, and when it came Bullard found Clarets keeper Brian Jensen in a thou-shall-not pass frame of mind.
His wickedly curling 25-yarder, following an innocuous looking Tony Grant foul on McCulloch, arced and dipped towards the bottom right hand corner.
But the Beast roared across his goal to stick out a dinner-plate sized glove and spoon the ball away from danger.
Record Wigan signing Roberts then came close to scoring on his home debut with a shot on the turn that whistled just side of Jensen's other upright.
But the Dane sprung to his side's rescue again seven minutes before the break, diving way down to his left to fingertip McCulloch's daisy-cutter for a corner following a neat build up involving Roberts and Ellington.
De Vos' disallowed goal came soon after as Wigan built up a head of steam following a decent spell of possession from the confident Clarets.
Their own chances may have been at a premium, but with new boy Neil Wood growing in stature with every passing minute on the left side of midfield, and Blake throwing in the odd cheeky contribution, Burnley were certainly giving as good as they got.
And ten minutes after the break came the type of chance manager Stan Ternent would have dreamed of. Blake's audacious flick found Ian Moore in the centre circle and his return pass dissected the Wigan back line to send his strike partner clear on goal.
Only John Filan stood between Blake and his 18th goal of the campaign, but for once the pitch was not to blame as he nonchalantly tried to nutmeg the former Blackburn keeper and saw his flailing legs deflect the ball for a corner.
It was by far the best chance of the game - and it would remain that way. Rennie lost all authority in a frantic fifteen minute spell, booking four players - three from Burnley - and encapsulating his woeful attempt at keeping control by missing both an elbow on Richard Chaplow and Jason Jarrett's attempt to barge Moore into row Z of a an irate gathering of Clarets fans.
Wood almost had the chance to steal victory, but the ball fell just behind him as he rushed on to Blake's delightful threaded pass into the box.
And as Jensen threw his cap on several weak Bullard free kicks at the other end, it quickly became apparent this strangely gripping contest would throw up no winner.
Still, January is history and the Clarets remain unbeaten in 2004. As a fitting reward, how about a deserved manager of the month award winging its way to Turf Moor in the next few days?
WIGAN 0
BURNLEY 0
At the JJB Stadium Att: 11,047
Courtesy of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph