Points deduction plunges Forest into Premier League drop zone
Nottingham Forest were plunged into the Premier League relegation zone after having four points deducted for breaking financial rules last season.
The deduction, announced by the league, left Forest in 18th place in the standings with 21 points, one behind Luton Town and four clear of 19th-placed Burnley.
Forest, European champions in 1979 and 1980, have seven days to appeal.
The Premier League said an independent commission had applied the immediate deduction after a two-day hearing “for a breach of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules [PSR] for the period ending 2022/2023”.
The statement noted that Forest had admitted to breaching the threshold of £61m (R1.47bn) by £34.5m (R831m).
In a statement, Forest said they were extremely disappointed with the decision.
“After months of engagement with the Premier League, and exceptional co-operation throughout, this was unexpected and has harmed the trust and confidence we had in the Premier League,” the Midlands club said.
“We believe that the high levels of co-operation 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.”
Premier League clubs are allowed to lose £105m (R2.53bn) over three seasons but two years of Forest’s assessment period were spent in the secondtier Championship, meaning they could lose only a maximum of £61m (R1.47bn).
PSR was introduced in 2013 to level the playing field and prevent clubs with rich ownership groups from spending vast sums on players.
Greek businessman Evangelos Marinakis, chair of shipping group Capital Maritime, took over Forest in 2017 and also owns Greek club Olympiakos.
Forest broke the record for most transfers (21) by a Premier League club in the closeseason window after their promotion in May 2022.
The Premier League said the club, who were charged last January, had demonstrated “exceptional co-operation” in their dealings with the Premier League throughout the process.
Forest are the second Premier League club to be deducted points this season for finance breaches. Everton had 10 taken away in November before the sanction was reduced to six on appeal this month.
Everton are still waiting on a potential second punishment relating to 2022/2023.
Last year, Manchester City were referred to an independent commission over more than 100 alleged finance rules breaches since the club was acquired by the Abu Dhabi-based City Football Group in 2008.
No verdict has been reached in that case.
Premier League CEO Richard Masters said in January a date had been set for a hearing.
City have denied any wrongdoing.