Leicester City to ‘accept’ PSR breach as points deduction edges closer
Leicester City are facing a potential points deduction after being charged with an alleged profit and sustainability (PSR) breach.
Leicester were initially charged with a spending breach in March 2024 after reporting losses of £90million for 2022-23, with top-flight sides only permitted to lose £105m over a rolling three-year period.
It has since been confirmed the Foxes will not face any punishment for their 2022-23 breach after exploiting a loophole in the rules.
However, Leicester were charged in May with an alleged breach of the EFL’s financial rules for 2023-24 – the year they secured promotion back to the Premier League.
The Telegraph reported on 18 November Leicester’s case is set to be heard this week, where they will contest three charges.
Everton verdict likely to be considered in Leicester case
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Leicester are likely to accept a PSR breach, but they may argue some of the numbers around it.
Everton previously received two and six-point penalties following two separate breaches, while Nottingham Forest were deducted four points.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: “If you look at the matrix around what happened with Everton and Nottingham Forest, so what’s interesting is that when those decisions were made and remember there’s quite a lot now because you’ve got the original decision in Everton, you’ve got the appeal decision, you’ve got the Everton for 2023, you’ve got Nottingham Forest, you’ve got the Nottingham Forest appeal.
“So, you’ve got a body of independent commissions and appeals, who now can explain to people how these things are looked at by those commissions in terms of how they get to their conclusion in respect of the sanction.
“So, where I think that leaves us is that in very simple terms, let’s assume that although Leicester may challenge certain aspects of the charges, apparently they’ve got three separate charges, now I would think that the charge in relation to the actual breach, the headline, did they overspend, is accepted by them.
“I can’t see how when we know that they did breach by £20m broadly in 2022-23, they didn’t get charged because they managed to find a loophole, but I can’t see how given that they have breached then that they didn’t actually breach in 2023-24.”
Leicester could land a six-point penalty if the punishment relates to the Premier League rules, but it may be worth up to 12 points under the EFL regulations.
How much did Leicester allegedly breach PSR by?
Borson revealed Leicester appear to have breached the rules by between £17-20m.
“I think they will accept that they have breached,” said Borson.
“They may argue about some of the numbers around that breach, but it’s likely that they accept the breach. That breach is said to be £17-20m. That would be a breach of about 25 per cent of the limit.
“Their limit is £83m not £105m because one of the seasons was in the Championship, so where that leaves them is three charges.
“One is around the breach of the PNS rules for 2023-24. That’s the Championship rules but prosecuted by the Premier League and passed over to the Premier League. The obligation to provide its annual accounts, and that’s a breach of the disclosure rules, and another breach effectively of disclosure rules, so three separate breaches.”
Leicester currently sit 10th in the Championship table under Marti Cifuentes, but a points deduction could soon be on the cards depending on the result of their upcoming hearing.
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