Nottingham Forest has been deducted four points for breaching the financial rules of the Premier League, placing them in the relegation zone and one point away from the last secure position. The Premier League confirmed the decision in a statement, stating that Forest “exceeded the relevant PSR thresholds of £61 million by £34.5 million,” and Forest is expected to appeal. Luton, whom Forest drew 1-1 with on Saturday, has been lifted from the bottom three due to the penalty.
Forest admitted to the breach, but their defense relied on mitigating circumstances related to the sale of Brennan Johnson. The club received an offer from Brentford of £30 million for the striker early last summer, but the player was not willing to move, and Forest believed they could get more money for their top asset by waiting beyond the PSR deadline on June 30. Johnson was sold to Tottenham in September for £47.5 million, but an independent panel did not accept this defense. As all revenue from the sale of Johnson, a youth product, was recorded as profit, the club argued that their approach aimed to make them more sustainable.
The Premier League commission’s decision stated: “When a club like Forest took the risk of effectively ignoring its finance director’s PSR warning before the January 2023 window and instead of selling players, adding players to its squad, which ultimately left it with the sale of player A [Brennan Johnson] just two weeks before the summer 2023 transfer window, such risk-taking behavior and ‘playing with fire’ requires an appropriate sanction to maintain the integrity of the Premier League.” Premier League clubs are allowed to lose £105 million over a three-year period, but Forest’s allowable losses were limited to £61 million because they spent two years of this period in the Championship. This was another part of their defense, with the club claiming that they were hindered after promotion, as investment in the squad is crucial to compete at a higher level against more established teams.
Since promotion, Forest has signed around 42 players for approximately £250 million, helping them retain their Premier League status last season. The commission described Forest’s breach as “serious” and stated: “The four-point penalty is not so much to punish Forest but to be fair to other clubs; to give the public confidence that if a club like Forest invests to compete in the Premier League, it still must adhere to the PSR loss threshold.”
Forest was commended for showing “exceptional cooperation” with the league throughout the disciplinary process.
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