Nottingham Forest have been docked four points by the Premier League management following the conclusion to an investigation into the club’s finances.
The Tricky Trees returned to the Premier League in 2022/23 after more than 15 years away. To be able to compete, the club broke the single season record for three most transfers in world football.
Over 30 deals were completed by the club’s transfer bureau. They brought in Morgan Gibbs-White, Taiwo Awoniyi, Serge Aurier, Matt Turner and many more. This helped them stay up as they look to maintain their Premier League status.
The transfer deals were looked into and it was discovered that some of them had discrepancies that breached the Profitability and Sustainability rules of the league’s financial fair play laws.
Investigations began and lasted well over a year. The conclusion has just been reached, according to reports, and a punishment has been dished out.
Reports claim that Forest’s punishment was determined by the number of seasons they had spent in the Premier League. The investigations revealed that they surpassed a £61 million limit imposed on them as a newly-promoted team by £34.5 million.
The rules permit Premier League clubs to lose not more than £105m over three seasons – £35 million per campaign. Forest’s maximum loss was capped at £61 million because they spent two years of the assessment period in the Championship.
Forest, who entered into the international break in 17th place and 25 points, will now lose four points. This will see them drop down to 18th, one point below Luton Town, who benefit from this to go into 17th with their 22 points gathered.
The Toffees were docked 10 points earlier in the season but after an appeal, saw their punishment reduced to six docked points.
A statement from the club read: “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.”
A statement for the Premier League read: “An independent commission has applied an immediate four-point deduction to Nottingham Forest FC for a breach of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSRs) for the period ending Season 2022/23.”
“The case was heard in accordance with new Premier League rules, which provide an expedited timetable for PSR cases to be resolved in the same season the complaint is issued.”
“The independent commission determined the sanction following a two-day hearing this month, at which the club had the opportunity to detail a range of mitigating factors. The commission found that the club had demonstrated “exceptional cooperation” in its dealings with the Premier League throughout the process.”
Nottingham Forest have seven days to appeal and are currently consulting with their lawyers over whether to do so. Any appeals to be made must be concluded five days after the ongoing season ends.
