Nottingham Forest deducted four points for breaching Premier League financial rules
The deduction drops Forest into the Premier League's relegation zone
Last updated 18th Mar 2024
Nottingham Forest have been docked four points for breaching Premier League financial rules.
The deduction drops Forest into the Premier League's relegation zone, leaving them 18th with nine games to play.
The Premier League said Forest admitted breaching profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) by £34.5million above their permitted threshold of £61million.
Clubs are usually allowed maximum losses of £105million over a three-year assessment period but this is reduced by £22million per season for any seasons within the period spent in the Championship.
The commission which imposed the sanction on Forest praised the club for their "exceptional co-operation" in their dealings with the Premier League on this issue.
The commission noted Forest's breach was "serious" and stated in its conclusion: "The four points sanction is not to punish Forest so much as it is to be fair to the other clubs; to give the public confidence that when a club invests as Forest did to compete in the Premier League, it still needs to comply with the PSR threshold for losses."
The commission ruling added: "When a club like Forest took the risk of effectively ignoring the PSR warning from its finance director before the January window in 2023, and rather than looking to sell players, it added players to its squad, ultimately leaving itself with just two weeks to sell Player A (Brennan Johnson) in the summer 2023 window, such risk taking and 'sailing close to the wind' needs a proportionate sanction to maintain the integrity of the Premier League."
"Nottingham Forest is extremely disappointed with the decision"
In a statement issued on their website, the club have expressed their frustration at the decision: "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.
"Notwithstanding our disappointment, we thank the Commission for agreeing to deal with this matter on an expedited basis. The Club considers it to be essential for the integrity of the league to have charges resolved in the season in which they are issued.
"We were extremely dismayed by the tone and content of the Premier League’s submissions before the Commission.
"After months of engagement with the Premier League, and exceptional cooperation throughout, this was unexpected and has harmed the trust and confidence we had 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.
"We were also surprised that the Premier League gave no consideration at all to the unique circumstances of the Club and its mitigation. In circumstances where this approach is followed by future PSR commissions, it would make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for newly promoted clubs without parachute payments to compete, thus undermining the integrity and competitiveness of the Premier League."