Everton and Forest face points deduction

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, the league said.

Everton have already been handed a separate 10-point deduction last year over their finances in the 2020/2021 season, which meant they fell into the relegation zone.

Both clubs had now been referred to the chair of the judicial panel, the Premier League said, who would appoint an independent commission to determine the appropriate sanction.

According to the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play regulations, clubs are permitted to lose a maximum of £105m (R2.5bn) over three years.

“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 affect 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, after Everton and champions Manchester City.

“The club intends to continue to co-operate 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 £39m (R930m) across three seasons, or £13m (R310m) per season, meaning their permissible losses over the last three campaigns would add up to £61m (R1.4bn).

Upon their promotion ahead of the 2022/2023 season, Forest broke the record for most transfers (21) by a Premier League club in the close-season window.

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