Leicester City have dealt the Premier League a major blow by winning an appeal against their alleged breach of Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSRs).
The English top flight referred the Foxes, who were promoted to the Premier League at the end of last season, to an independent commission in March for breaching PSR in 2022-23.
Everton and Nottingham Forest were hit with points deductions for infringing the same rules, which use a three-year monitoring period and hinge on an allowed level of losses.
The judgement decreed that Leicester could not have been found in breach because their financial accounts were not finalised until the end of June 2023 — after their relegation.
The Premier League said it was “surprised and disappointed” by the outcome.
Former champions Leicester appealed the decision over the independent body’s jurisdiction to hear the case after their protests were initially thrown out and an independent appeal board reversed the commission’s findings.
“Leicester City welcomes the Appeal Board’s comprehensive decision, which supports our consistently stated position that any action against the Club should be pursued in accordance with the applicable rules,” a club statement read.
“To avoid any misunderstandings which may arise in light of the statement which has been issued by the Premier League in response to the appeal decision, Leicester City wishes to emphasise the finding of the Appeal Panel that, when considering the wording which is actually used in the Premier League rules (in accordance with established principles of English law) the Club did not breach the Premier League PSRs for the assessment period ending 30 June 2023.
“In its decision, the Appeal Board (which was made of up a panel of three experienced, senior lawyers, two of whom are former Court of Appeal judges) identifies flaws in the drafting of the Premier League’s rules. In challenging the Premier League’s attempts to charge Leicester City, the Club has simply sought to ensure (in the interests of providing consistency and certainty for all clubs) that the rules are applied based on how they are actually written.”
The verdict, which criticises the wording of the Premier League’s rule book, is a significant blow at a time when it is fighting Manchester City on two legal fronts.
A statement from the Premier League read: “The Premier League is surprised and disappointed by the independent Appeal Board’s decision to uphold an appeal lodged by Leicester City FC regarding the League’s jurisdiction over the club’s alleged breach of its Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSRs) when the club was a member of the Premier League.
“The Appeal Board’s decision effectively means that, despite the club being a member of the League from Seasons 2019/20 to 2022/23, the League cannot take action against the club for exceeding the relevant PSR threshold in respect of the associated accounting periods.
“If the Appeal Board is correct, its decision will have created a situation where any club exceeding the PSR threshold could avoid accountability in these specific circumstances. This is clearly not the intention of the rules.
“It is of critical importance that the Premier League is able to enforce its rules consistently to maintain the principle of fairness. The League will now consider what further action it can take to ensure this is the case.”