Nottingham Forest and Leicester City have been penalized by the Premier League for breaking profit and sustainability criteria.
Leicester City are the next team to be found in violation of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability guidelines, following Nottingham Forest’s accusation. Earlier this week, the Premier League stated that Forest will be docked four points after admitting to exceeding PSR by £34.5 million.
Forest’s punishment was reduced after cooperating with the case and entering an early plea, despite the Premier League’s initial request for an eight-point deduction. Instead, losing four points saw Forest slip into the relegation zone at the mercy of Luton Town, rather than dropping to just three points above Sheffield United at the bottom.
Following the allegation, Forest issued a forceful statement denouncing the Premier League’s actions. “Nottingham Forest is extremely disappointed with the decision of the Commission to impose a sanction on the Club of four points, to be applied with immediate effect,” the answer said.
“We were quite disappointed with the tone and content of the Premier League’s representations to the Commission. After months of engagement and outstanding cooperation, this was unexpected and has undermined our faith and confidence in the Premier League.
“That the Premier League sought a sanction of eight points as a starting point was utterly disproportionate when compared to the nine points that their own rules prescribe for insolvency.”
Following another PSR announcement from the Premier League, Leicester published their own statement that is similar to the one released by Forest. If Leicester are promoted from the Championship this season, they could lose points in the Premier League.
The club’s statement read: “Leicester City is surprised by the Premier League’s actions today.” The team is extremely disappointed that the Premier League has chosen to charge LCFC at this time, despite the Club’s efforts to engage constructively with the Premier League on the issues raised in this charge, notwithstanding the fact that LCFC is not currently a Premier League team.
“LCFC is willing and eager to work constructively with the Premier League and the EFL to resolve any potential charges in the proper manner, by the right bodies, and at the right time. The Club continues to seek meticulous counsel on its position and, if necessary, will continue to defend itself against any unlawful acts by football authorities, should they seek to exercise jurisdiction where they cannot, as happened earlier this year.
“LCFC has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to the P&S rules through its operating model over a significant period of time, achieving compliance while pursuing sporting ambitions that are entirely credible given the Club’s consistent success, both domestically and in European competition.
“As we continue to promote the Club’s perspective, we will fight for the right of all clubs to pursue their goals, especially if they have been reasonably and fairly established by consistent sporting performance.
“The Club thanks its supporters for their understanding in this matter and for their continued support for our team, whose success on the pitch during the final weeks of the season remains our primary focus.”
Both comments feature the clubs expressing their unhappiness with how the Premier League has acted, and words afterward appear to imply that they believe the regulations are unfair to smaller clubs.
Everton, a Premier League relegation foe, was also punished points in November 2023 for violating financial regulations. Along with Forest, the Toffees were charged in January with a hearing to hear the charges on the horizon, and a decision must be provided within seven days of the hearing’s end.
