Nottingham Forest are likely to discover the result of a hearing into their Premier League profit and sustainability rules breach this week.
They face a possible points deduction after being charged in January, along with Everton, for PSR breaches in their accounts up until 2022-23.
A hearing was held on 7 and 8 March.
Anything more than a three-point penalty would see Forest fall into the relegation zone, below Luton with nine games to go.
Premier League rules state the commission must “provide its decision, together with written reasons, within one week of the conclusion of the hearing”.
Given nothing was published on Friday, it means the decision is likely to arrive this week, potentially as early as Monday.
Everton were docked 10 points in November – reduced to six on appeal – for breaching financial rules, with an independent commission finding their losses to 2021-22 amounted to £124.5m.
Premier League clubs can lose £105m over three seasons – £35m per campaign – but, because Forest spent two years of the assessment period in the Championship, their maximum loss was only permitted to be £61m.
It is unclear by how much the club have breached regulations but Forest, who hired leading sports lawyer Nick De Marco to defend them, are thought to have based their case around the sale of Brennan Johnson to Tottenham in September.
The move, worth more than £45m, took place after the accounting deadline but Forest argue selling Johnson at a later date allowed them to earn a higher fee than if they had sold him by 30 June.
Forest were promoted in May 2022 and signed 22 new players that summer, reportedly spending £150m.
Nuno Espirito Santo asked for clarity on Forest’s situation before Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Luton, which left them three points above the relegation zone.
“We’re waiting and let’s wait and see,” said the manager on Thursday.
“We don’t know when it could happen, but the club will take care of that. Football-wise, we just focus on the pitch. We don’t know when it’s going to come. I prefer the sooner the better.”
After the charge two months ago, Forest said they were “confident of a speedy and fair resolution”.
Everton are waiting on a potential second punishment, relating to the assessment period ending with their 2022-23 accounts.
Manchester City were also referred to an independent commission in February 2023 after more than 100 alleged rule breaches.
Source
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. All rights and credits reserved to respective owner(s).
Add Comment