Nottingham Forest lodge appeal against points deduction

Nottingham Forest lodged an appeal Monday against the four-point deduction imposed upon them for a breach of Premier League financial rules.

“Nottingham Forest can confirm that it has today lodged an appeal against the four point sanction imposed by the Commission in relation to the Club’s breach of the Premier League’s Profit & Sustainability Rules,” the club said in a brief statement on its website.

“The club will not be making any further statement at this time,” added Forest.

On March 18, the Premier League club were docked four points after admitting breaching their profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) threshold of £61 million ($77.5 million) by £34.5 million.

Reacting at the time, Forest said they were “extremely disappointed” by the ruling and “dismayed by the tone” of the Premier League’s argument.

“We believe that the high levels of cooperation the club has shown during this process, and which are confirmed and recorded in the commission’s decision, were not reciprocated by the Premier League,” Forest said in a statement last week.

The four-point deduction meant they dropped into the relegation zone, one point behind 17th-placed Luton and four adrift of Everton.

Premier League clubs are usually allowed maximum losses of £105 million over a three-year assessment period but this is reduced by £22 million per season for any seasons within the period spent in the Championship.

Forest were promoted back to the Premier League in May 2022 following a 23-year absence, meaning two seasons of their three-year assessment period were as a Championship club.

Forest are the second top-flight team to be penalised for PSR breaches this season after Everton were hit with a 10-point penalty in November, which was reduced to six on appeal.

The commission which imposed the sanction against Forest noted the club’s breach was “serious”.

“The four points sanction is not to punish Forest so much as it is to be fair to the other clubs; to give the public confidence that when a club invests as Forest did to compete in the Premier League, it still needs to comply with the PSR threshold for losses,” said the commission.

Forest’s defence was centred around the sale of Brennan Johnson to Tottenham on September 1, 2023, but this deal occurred after the PSR deadline on June 30.

The English top-flight has previously said the appeals process should “conclude no later than and if possible some time before 24 May”, which is five days after the final weekend of the season.

With a second complaint against Everton still being processed and now Forest’s appeal, relegation from the Premier League this term may end up being decided in the courts days after the last ball has been kicked on the pitch.