- The news deals a blow to their hopes of staying in the Premier League.
Nottingham Forest have reportedly lost their appeal against a four-point deduction for breaching Premier League financial rules.
The decision, according The Athletic, deals a serious blow to their hopes of avoiding relegation to the Championship, as the club hoped to regain some of the points. Forest are currently in 17th place, just three points above the relegation zone.
The club was sanctioned for failing to meet the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability standards. Forest, whose legal team was led by Nick De Marco KC, had said they were “extremely disappointed” to receive a four-point penalty.
Premier League clubs can lose £105m over three seasons (£35m per campaign), but Forest were only allowed to lose £61m because they spent two years of the assessment period in the Championship.
Forest exceeded their PSR threshold by up to £34.5m in the relevant period, the Premier League said.
Nottingham Forest was credited with an early admission of guilt and cooperation.
The four-point deduction put them in the relegation zone below Luton (table of 18 March)
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis will be disappointed with the appeal panel’s decision.
The club’s early admission of guilt and its collaboration with the Premier League contributed to the club receiving a lesser penalty than Everton, who were initially docked 10 points before the punishment was reduced to six on appeal.
The Premier League had proposed deducting two points from the penalty imposed on Forest, while the club pushed for a reduction of a third, which would have reduced the penalty to three points.
Ultimately, the Commission decided not to deduct a third point for an early exception, but instead decided to deduct two points for the early exception and cooperation.
As a result, Forest eventually received a four-point penalty.
Part of Forest’s defense had involved the sale of Brennan Johnson to Tottenham for £47.5m in August.
As PSR calculations are made over a three-year period ending June 30, Johnson’s deal will count towards the calculation for the 2021-2024 period rather than 2020-23, as it was completed by the deadline.
Clubs can suffer financial losses of £105m over a three-year period, with Forest reporting an annual loss of £45.6m in their latest accounts.
Following the decision to dock four points, Forest said in a statement: “We are very dismayed by the tone and content of the Premier League’s submissions to the Commission.
| Sanction effect | |
|---|---|
| Entry point for a significant breach | 3 |
| Circumstances and magnitude of the admitted non-compliance | +3 points |
| Minus: mitigation | -2 points |
| Total sanction | 4 points |
“After months of commitment to the Premier League and exceptional cooperation throughout, this was unexpected and has damaged the trust we had in the Premier League.
“For the Premier League to ask for an eight-point penalty as a starting point was completely disproportionate to the nine points prescribed by its own insolvency rules.
“We were also surprised that the Premier League did not take into account the Club’s unique circumstances and their mitigation. In circumstances where future PSR commissions follow this approach, it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for newly promoted clubs without parachute payments compete, thereby undermining the integrity and competitiveness of the Premier League.
Under-pressure Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo previously called the situation “a disaster”.
“It can affect the integrity of the competition,” Nuno said. “All these things need to be resolved as soon as possible.”