Premier League embarrassed as Leicester escape factors deduction in PSR enchantment
Leicester City are set to avoid a huge point deduction after winning a legal battle against the Premier League.
The Foxes were accused of breaking the league’s profit and sustainability rules after they allegedly recorded significant losses. The Midlands club had apparently gone £19.5m over the permitted £105m deficit.
However, Leicester appealed this claim based on the fact they weren’t members of the Premier League last season, arguing they shouldn’t therefore be sanctioned. A commission initially ruled in favour of the Premier League but that decision has since been overturned on appeal, meaning it’s now likely Leicester will avoid any punishment.
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It’s a huge embarrassment for the Premier League, who have effectively been told that they can’t enforce their own rules. In a statement, they said the ruling “means that, despite the club being a member of the (Premier) League from seasons 2019/20 to 2022/23, the League cannot take action against the club for exceeding the relevant PSR threshold in respect of the associated accounting periods”.
Despite the disappointment of being relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2022/23 season, it’s turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Foxes, who now avoid a punishment because their shareholding in the league had been passed over to Luton Town.
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(Image: Leicester City FC via Getty Imag)
It’s likely the Premier League will now alter their rules after being caught out so that a club can still be punished in retrospect after being relegated. The news will provide a huge boost for Steve Cooper and his players who would’ve faced a monumental task of reaching safety if they had received a deduction.
While it’s likely they’ll still be involved in a relegation battle, it will be a much more even fight now. There will be plenty of other clubs in the league fuming though, with Everton and Nottingham Forest both receiving points deductions last year for their own breaches.
One thing the Premier League is struggling to get right is the consistency of punishments for breaking PSR rules.
