Skip to main content

Stakes are high for Foxes as they fight back

The Premier League’s statement this week said it had referred Leicester City to an independent commission for an alleged PSR breach and for failing to submit their audited financial accounts to the league for the 2022-23 season, when they were still in the Premier League.

The Premier League has yet to see the accounts — although they were submitted to the English Football League earlier this month — and Leicester believe they do not have to share them with the Premier League as they are now an EFL club and therefore not bound by the top flight’s new December deadline brought in after Leicester were relegated in May 2023.

It seems from Leicester’s statement yesterday that they are up for a fight on this, unlike Forest, who opted for a path-of-least-resistance approach to have their penalty reduced for good behaviour.

Leicester’s legal team, led by Nick De Marco, has already written to both leagues warning them that they will ask for a Rule K arbitration hearing (the FA system for settling disputes) to get a ruling on whether the Premier League has the right to charge and sanction them this season, which will prolong the process.

The stakes are high for Leicester. If they got a points penalty now and that stopped them from getting promoted, they would face a huge cost-cutting exercise or be in breach again. They would be forced to accept a business plan from the EFL, which effectively means operating under special measures.

Such an exercise could leave them stuck in the Championship for several years as they regrouped and possibly affect their chances of staying up should they return to the Premier League.

But another factor is the views of clubs they are competing against this season. Some feel Leicester cynically chose to keep a Premier League-level squad together this season, knowing they were unlikely to be punished for it until they had already gained their objective.

However, Leicester fans might argue that Big Six clubs resent the way in which they won the Premier League title, although it enabled the league to claim that anyone could win it.

The biggest winners will probably be the lawyers who will claim substantial fees, not football.

The MP for Leicester South, Jonathan Ashworth, has written to the managing director of the Premier League expressiing his concern about Leicester's treatment: https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/mp-reveals-letter-sent-premier-9185163

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wolves get raw deal from FFP

  I used to see a lifelong Wolves fan for lunch once a month.   He was approaching ninety, but still went to games.   Sadly he passed away the other week. As football finance guru Kieran Maguire has noted, Wolves continue to be constrained by financial fair play rules.  Radio 4 this morning described them as this year's 'crisis club' and the pessimists have certainly been piling in. Martin Samuel wrote sympathetically in the Sunday Times yesterday, saying that the Premier League drives talent away with regulatory red tape: 'Why could Al-Hilal sign Neves? Because Wolves needed the money. And why did Wolves need the money? Because the club had to comply with an artificial construct known as financial fair play. So Wolves are going skint, yes? No. There is no suggestion that Wolves are in financial trouble, only that they are failing to meet the rigours of FFP. Wolves’ owners appear to have the money to run the club, and invest in the club, and in fact came up with a pow
Post a Comment
Read more

Gold standard ground boosts Tottenham's income

The gold standard in European football grounds is the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in north London, a £1bn construction project completed in 2019. Its impact on the club’s finances has become increasingly clear as the effects of the pandemic have faded. Previously, the average fan would spend less than £2 inside the ground on a typical match day, but now that figure is about £16, thanks to new facilities including the longest bar in Europe and an on-site microbrewery. Capacity has gone up from 36,000 at the club’s previous home of White Hart Lane to 62,000.  The new stadium — built on land adjacent to White Hart Lane — has opened the door to a broad range of other events that have helped to push commercial income up from €117mn in 2018 to €215mn in 2022. Last year, Tottenham hosted US singer Beyoncé for five nights on her global Renaissance tour, two NFL matches, as well as rugby games and heavyweight boxing bouts.  Money brought in from football has gone up too. Match day income is
Post a Comment
Read more

Charlton takeover approved

The long awaited takeover of Charlton Athletic by SE7 Partners from Thomas Sandgaard has been approved:  https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/se7-partners-obtain-efl-approval-for-charlton-athletic-takeover/ Charlton have had unhappy experiences with owners for over a decade, so how this works out will remain to be seen.  There is certainly potential there, but will it be realised? This interview with Charlie Methven gives detail not available elsewhere:  https://thecharltondossier.com/charlie-methven-on-the-record/
Post a Comment
Read more