Everton, Forest face Premier League points deductions

Nottingham Forest and Everton meet at The City Ground, Nottingham. Photo: Godfrey Pitt

Nottingham Forest and Everton face a points deduction after the clubs were charged by the Premier League for a breach of their profitability and sustainability rules (PSR), the league said on Tuesday.

Everton have already been handed a separate 10-point deduction this year over their finances in the 2020-21 season, which meant they fell into the relegation zone.

Both clubs have now been referred to the chair of the Judicial Panel, the Premier League said, who will appoint an independent commissions to determine the appropriate sanction.

According to the Premier League's Financial Fair Play regulations, clubs are permitted to lose a maximum of 105 million pounds ($215 million) over a three-year period.

"Everton can assure its fans that it will continue to defend its position during the ongoing appeal and, should it be required to do so, at any future commission - and that the impact on supporters will be reflected as part of that process," Everton said.

The Merseyside club have filed an appeal against their initial points deduction, which they labelled "wholly disproportionate and unjust".

Forest, who have not previously run afoul of the regulations, become the third club to have been charged by the Premier League, following Everton and champions Manchester City.

"The club intends to continue to cooperate fully with the Premier League on this matter and are confident of a speedy and fair resolution," Forest said in a statement.

The East Midlands club were in the second-tier Championship until 2022, where clubs are permitted a maximum loss of 39 million pounds across three seasons, or 13 million pounds per season, meaning their permissible losses over the last three campaigns would add up to 61 million pounds.

Upon their promotion ahead of the 2022-23 season, Forest broke the record for most transfers (21) by a Premier League club in the close-season window.

Earlier this year, Manchester City were also referred to an independent commission over more than 100 alleged breaches of finance rules since the club were acquired by the Abu Dhabi-based City Football Group in 2008. No verdict has been reached in that case.

Clubs in England's top flight have been docked points before, with Middlesbrough having three points deducted in 1997 when they failed to fulfil a fixture, while Portsmouth were given a nine-point penalty in 2010 when the financially-troubled club entered administration.

- Reuters