And so it begins....... Everton next? Then Forest? Who after that? If the PL folded like a pack of cards when NDM stuck his wig on and apparently had a weak as piss legal team... how on earth are they going to cope with a flood of cases against them? As the cases mount so will be public opinion and in an election year the politicians will start to get involved too..... Will this hasten the departure of the scummy 6 to a Euro lock in league? I wish we had some legal brains on here. Trev do you know anyone with half a legal brain who can comment and who isn't always on holiday please? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68635985 Leicester City have started "urgent" legal proceedings against the Premier League and English Football League (EFL) after being charged with allegedly breaking spending rules. The Championship club said they were "compelled" to act after being charged with breaching profit and sustainability rules (PSR) on Thursday. If found guilty, the Foxes could face a points deduction. The club have also been placed under a transfer embargo by the EFL. Leicester have been referred to an independent commission by the Premier League for the alleged breach of PSR rules for their last three seasons in the top flight and for failing to submit audited finances. They are also subject to a separate financial probe by the EFL. Latest Leicester City news and analysis Get Foxes news notifications Listen to the latest When You're Smiling podcast In a statement, Leicester said that they would seek to ensure that the proceedings were overseen "by an appropriate and fully independent legal panel". "The club is committed to ensure that any charges against it are properly and proportionately determined, in accordance with the applicable rules, by the right bodies, and at the right time," the statement said. "While LCFC would prefer the proceedings to be in public, so its supporters and the wider world can be informed about the important issues of football governance that will be considered, the relevant rules require that these proceedings are conducted confidentially, and LCFC will therefore not be able to comment further about them at this stage. "We reaffirm the club's position that we will continue to fight for the right of Leicester City and all clubs to pursue their ambitions, particularly where these have been reasonably and fairly established through sustained sporting achievement." Leicester added that the EFL's decision to impose a transfer embargo was "both restrictive and premature". What's the background? Leicester are yet to make their accounts for their last season in the Premier League publicly available, but in the 12 months up to May 2022 they lost a club record £92.5m. A year earlier, in the season when they lifted the FA Cup for the first time, the club reported a pre-tax loss of £33.1m. Top-flight rules permit clubs to make losses of £105m over a three-year period, or £35m per campaign, before facing sanctions. At the turn of the year, Leicester looked certain to bounce straight back up to the Premier League, topping the Championship table and with a 13-point gap over third-place Southampton. But a run of poor form - including one win in their past five league games - has seen Leeds overtake them at the top, with Ipswich only a point behind in third. Both Everton and Nottingham Forest have faced similar charges relating to their accounts up to 2022-23 from the Premier League, with the latter found guilty and hit with a four-point deduction on Monday. Everton were docked 10 points in November - which was reduced to six on appeal - for previous PSR breaches, and are waiting on a potential second punishment relating to the assessment period ending with their 2022-23 accounts. Both Premier League clubs were required to submit their accounts by 31 December - under new rules designed to speed up the reporting process and ensure any penalties are imposed during a season when alleged transgressions take place - but Leicester were not required to do so after dropping out of the league. And because Leicester were not part of the Premier League when the new 'standard directions' were adopted, which also prescribe a timeline when cases should be heard, the independent commission will set the timescale. It means that the case, including any appeals, could run beyond the end of this season and may see sanctions, if applicable, enforced next season. Leicester are now involved in dealing with two financial investigations, with the club the subject of an ongoing EFL inquiry into a possible breach of PSR rules relating to the ongoing season. The club were forecast to breach loss limits for the ongoing three-year term at a time when Obi Wan was set to breach yet another belt notch as his black belt expands further.
T Because the Clubs have a long history of acting responsibly from a financial standpoint. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/334192-four-english-clubs-now-facing-administration There needs to be financial management of Clubs but it needs to be there to stop Clubs going bust and not there to stop sensible investment.
As I’ve said before, who is it protecting? They wheel out ****ing Bury as if that’s the marker when everyone is well aware of the real reasons! There are a plethora of ways to allow investment without saddling the club with debt. But when you’re trying to argue that a club like Newcastle could have problems with the backing we have is absolutely mental. If we could freely spend we’d qualify for more, win more, earn more, build more. More tax for the government, more money for smaller clubs players. I hope everyone jumps in with Leicester because it is in every clubs interest to be as attractive as possible to outside investment.
It’s pretty obvious that they have breached the existing competition rules so not sure why anyone should jump in with them. They deserve any punishment they get. It’s clear that there are a majority of PL clubs currently in favour of FFP or they would have voted it out. Think the more teams that fall foul of it the more likely it is that a new system is proposed and voted in.
Just because it's a rule doesn't mean it's right. The majority are not wanting to compete or they don't prefer other clubs trying to compete with them. It's not like they're going to vote to make their life harder is it. It simply suits the big 6 and suits the also rans who don't want it becoming more difficult to stay up because there's a big 7 or 8. The entire concept is a nonsense and a lie.... clubs don't need protection from owners who do actually have money. It was an opportunity to kill competition and favour the order that already exists. Anyone that thinks these rules were to stop what happened at Portsmouth happening again are on glue. The solution was far easier and it was proof of funds and an agreement on debt responsibility. The rules suit fans of big 6 clubs that's for sure, but it's not good for football. Rules invented by horrible men with grubby hands.
Very good discussion. Didn’t realise that voting on issues regarding PL had to be 14:6 to make a change. Means that with FFP it only needs one of the lower clubs who are punching above their weight on low spend to vote with big 6 (who obviously want to keep FFP) to stop any changes. Might be an idea to request a vote on changes if Chelsea can’t sell players this Summer.
This is all becoming a complete farce. The rules are clearly broken and need ripped up. Just stick in a rule where you can spend what you want but if you make a loss then the owners have to put the money in to mitigate the loss. That money cannot be withdrawn. So it permanently sits on the balance sheet.
The problem with that is it would inevitably be too late. The money has to be put in before there is a loss. The next problem is the fact that Clubs that go bust usually haven’t been keeping to the rules in the first place. There needs to be rules in place obviously and those rules need to concentrate on Clubs not spending money that isn’t there. The rules then need to be combined with a set of draconian penalties which would deter Clubs from breaching the rules with those penalties being set out in advance.
I think its very very interesting that this sudden hardball approach to PSR punishments has started following the big 6 threatening to join a super league and then 'changing their minds'!
There's plenty of better options, but crucially those ideas do actually protect clubs and don't kill competition.
