Premier League release PSR statement on Leicester amid fears club could be hit by points deduction
PREM clubs sailing close to the financial wind breathed a sigh of relief as it emerged there were NO Profitability and Sustainability Rules breaches last season.
But League chiefs are STILL pursuing Leicester, despite the Foxes having successfully argued a legal loophole which meant the Prem could not charge them for breaking the rules in 2022-23.
All the clubs who had posted aggregate losses over the previous two seasons had a hard deadline for their 2023-24 accounts on December 31.
Clubs are limited to “allowable losses” – once spending on infrastructure, the youth and women’s teams and community projects is taken off – of a maximum £105m over three seasons, with the limit £22m less for any seasons spent outside the Prem.
Under rules voted in by the clubs in 2023, charges then had to be laid by League bosses within 14 days, with the hard deadline today.
Any alleged breaches would have been dealt with and punishments imposed before the end of this campaign.
Unlike last season, which saw Everton and Nottingham Forest deducted points, the deadline passed with no clubs being charged.
However, it emerged that Prem lawyers are still arguing that the case involving Leicester should be reopened.
In a statement, a Prem spokesman said: “Issues as to the jurisdiction of the Premier League over Leicester City Football Club in relation to PSR compliance are currently the subject of confidential arbitration proceedings.
“Accordingly, neither the League nor the club will make any further comment at this stage about any aspect of the club’s compliance or otherwise with any of the PSR or related Rules.
“No complaint has been brought against Leicester by the League for any breach of the PSRs for the period ending Season 2023/24.”
Leicester, who faced a significant points deduction after being charged, persuaded an appeal hearing that they were not under Prem jurisdiction because they had been relegated to the Championship last season.
That ruling, though, is evidently still being challenged by Prem legal chiefs.
The lack of charges demonstrates the success of last summer’s end of season player swap deals between a number of Prem clubs, aimed at meeting PSR rules.
That transfer merry-go-round saw Newcastle sell midfielder Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest for £35m, with Greek keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos heading the other way in a £20m deal.
Everton, looking at a loss of around £90m for the previous two campaigns, sold Ben Godfrey to Atalanta for £10m and Lewis Dobbin to Aston Villa for £9m in the final days before the official June 30 end of last term.
The Goodison Park side also paid £9m for Villa’s Tim Iroegbunam, while Chelsea sold Ian Maatsen to Unai Emery’s men for £37.5m and bought youngster Omari Kellyman for £19m.
Villa brought in more than £40m from Juventus for midfielder Douglas Luiz.
Those deals led to Prem chiefs warning clubs that they must not use loopholes in the rulebook to avoid PSR penalties and that they are duty bound to act “with utmost good faith” towards the competition and rivals.
There were arguments that charging each other potentially inflated fees – with incoming transfers “amortised” over contract lengths while sales can be lodged at full book value – to get round PSR provisions was a breach of that undertaking.
However, all the deals have been cleared by League bosses, ensuring the final Prem table is set to be exactly that – with all points earned on the pitch counting at the end of the season in May.