leicester city

Leicester in danger of Premier League points deduction

Published

7 months ago

March 5, 2024

Leicester City are reportedly in danger of being hit with a points deduction during the 2024/25 Premier League campaign if they gain promotion back to English football’s top flight. This is due to two potential breaches of financial rules, according to The Sun.

The Foxes were relegated to the Championship at the end of a disappointing 2022/23 campaign, but clubs from England’s top two tiers are understood to suspect that Leicester broke the Premier League’s £105 million limits on losses for the previous three seasons. This rule allows for a £35 million loss per season.

Additionally, there are concerns that the east Midlands outfit are set to exceed the £83 million of combined losses they are allowed to make over three years, including the current campaign. The English Football League [EFL] only allows a club to make £13 million in losses per season.

Leicester are likely to have secured promotion from the Championship before any punishment can be brought forward. Enzo Maresca has had the team playing some wonderful football since his appointment after a spell as one of Pep Guardiola’s assistant managers at Manchester City. However, the Italian will have an even tougher task on his hands next term if his club are penalised after they’ve escaped the Championship.

Per The Sun’s report, clubs have grown frustrated at the length of time it takes for Financial Fair Play [FFP] cases to be investigated and for action to subsequently be taken. There’s also said to be frustration over the lack of clarity in terms of which league’s responsibility it should be to check a club’s finances if they are promoted or relegated from the top flight.

Everton and Nottingham Forest are both under investigation for their own breaches of the financial rules, with the former already being handed a points deduction earlier in the season. This might be an indication of Leicester’s fate, as talkSPORT have suggested a points deduction could come into effect for the Foxes at the beginning of the 2024//25 Premier League season should they be found guilty of the alleged charges.

This would put the team in a difficult situation upon their return to the top flight, as they currently sit top of the Championship table and look likely to bounce straight back into England’s premier club competition. Teams can avoid immediate sanctions due to the delayed process but, eventually, there will be action taken for any of the named sides found to have been in breach of the rules.

There’s still a huge job to do on the pitch for Maresca and his Leicester players. The 2015/16 Premier League champions could have already been in trouble had they not been relegated in 2023, as they did not have to reveal their 2022/23 financial figures due to the demotion.

This is the exact reason Nottingham Forest and Everton find themselves in hot water, as the two clubs had to submit their figures early to the Premier League. Punishments will be handed out when all the facts are gathered and a club are deemed to be in breach of the rules in place. This means Leicester City – like Everton and Nottingham Forest – will have to wait and see what comes their way depending on the outcome of these alleged breaches.