New Delhi: Leicester City are looking at their second consecutive season of breaching the profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) and are waiting to find out if the Premier League will be charging them for the violation. Leicester on New Year’s Eve were among many clubs in the top-tier of English football who had to submit their financial accounts for the 2023-24 season, having recorded losses over the past two years and by 13th January will know if they have actually breached the PSR rules.
Leicester narrowly escaped a Premier League points deduction at the start of the season when they were charged with a £24.4m breach from the 2022-23 season. The club’s legal team successfully convinced the independent commission that due to The Foxes’ relegation at the end of that season, they were not in the Premier League when they had submitted their accounts for the said period.
The club had recorded pre-tax losses of £92.5m for the 2022 financial year and £90m for the 2023 financial year and are at risk of being charged with another violation. After both Everton and Nottingham Forest were given points deduction last season, a second-to-bottom placed at the halfway point in the season Leicester can’t afford to lose a single point.
Premier League PSR Laws
Premier League rules restrict clubs from losing more than £105m over a period of three years if they are all spent in the top tier. Since Leicester were in the Championship last season, their permitted losses in the ongoing three-year cycle will be reduced by £22m, due to the stricter limitation on spending by the English Football League. The club’s losses though may have been reduced by last season’s player sales.
This would include Harvey Barnes’s move to Newcastle which was valued at £38m and Timothy Castagne’s £15m transfer to Fulham as well as the £10m compensation received for Enzo MAresca’s move to Chelsea. However, since Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s £30m sale didn’t happen until July 2024, it won’t be included.
Leicester have, however, stated their confidence in avoiding another charge, although media sources have noted that they may have a case they need to respond to. Leicester could also potentially face charges from the EFL for overspending during the 2020-23 timeframe at the conclusion of this season, should they be relegated.
The regulations introduced 18 months ago, the PSR breaches are dealt at a swift pace, with Premier League clubs who have shown aggregate losses over the previous two periods need to hand in their accounts for the previous season. Premier League lawyers and accountants will then spend the next fortnight assessing the numbers to rule out if there have been any PSR breaches, with the decisions to charge to be published by 13 January.
While Leicester are most vulnerable for breaching the PSR rule, having violated by £24.4m in the 2022-23 season. Having sold players last summer, Chelsea, Everton and Nottingham stand on the other side of the spectrum with confidence for not having breached PSR law.
After successfully avoiding points deduction at the start of the season for breaching PSR laws through technicality, Leicester City are again at the claws of the PSR Premier League breaching. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
