Phil Hay feels Leicester City will continue to be concerned that the EFL may attempt to impose a points deduction, altering the title race with Leeds United and Ipswich “quite significantly”.
Speaking on The Square Ball Podcast on March 15, the Athletic journalist stated that he believed it was too late in the season for the league to successfully impose a sanction on the Foxes for a profit and sustainability breach, but that it could not be completely ruled out and would weigh on the league leaders.
He also stated that there will be frustration at Elland Road since the club has made an attempt to stay within financial constraints, highlighting the early sale of Luis Sinisterra for less than the permanent option in his loan to Bournemouth, when rivals have not.
Hay stated (19m 45s): “There will be a slight worry down there [in Leicester]. The period between now and the end of the season appears to be too tight for the EFL to do anything.
“But there must be some concern that the EFL will want to get involved in this, and if there is a points deduction or some other sanction, it certainly affects everything fairly considerably.
“And given they’re already in violation of PSR, or so we believe, but it definitely appeared to indicate in the paper that was revealed last week that they can’t afford not to go up this season or it will handicap them much more.
“They tell us that Leeds has remained compliant up to this time. I have no reason to doubt them. And I believe one of the difficulties at Leeds is that they have made an effort to be PSR compliant, but it has been difficult.
Frustration at Leeds United on the FFP situation at the King Power
With the promotion race so tight, there is no assurance that any of the top four will automatically qualify for the Premier League, let alone win the Championship.
On present form, few would bet against Leeds United, who have raced into second place and trimmed the distance to the top to just three points heading into the weekend.
But if Leicester have benefited from breaking spending rules to put themselves in the box seat, that will undoubtedly irritate fans at Elland Road, especially since the Foxes, Everton, and Nottingham Forest were the three teams that finished above the Whites in the Premier League table last season when relegated and have all been charged.
All three clubs may plausibly claim that it is difficult to determine what benefits have been gained where, and given that the top flight’s rules are scheduled to alter this summer, it looks they were never fit for purpose in the first place.
But, in layman’s words, if a points deduction that would have pushed a club behind Leeds fails to arrive in time, as it did for the Toffees this season, it will not please Angus Kinnear at company.
