Leicester City’s PSR Breach: How Many Points Could They Have Deducted Next Season? | OneFootball

Leicester City’s PSR Saga: What Awaits in the Championship and Beyond?

Leicester City’s turbulent relationship with the Premier League continues, this time via a Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) breach that could have serious consequences heading into next season. After a dismal campaign culminating in relegation to the Championship, the Foxes now face a potential points deduction at a time when they can least afford further setbacks.

While the headlines will focus on the financial regulations, this is ultimately a story of timing, legal wrangling, and a football club grappling with the consequences of high-stakes miscalculations both on and off the pitch.

PSR breach: Not Just a Top-Flight Concern

Leicester City’s financial troubles didn’t start yesterday. Following their relegation from the Premier League in 2023, the club’s PSR exposure quickly became a hot topic. In the three-year cycle ending in 2023, the club posted losses totalling £215.2 million, far exceeding the allowed limit of £105 million, even with allowances made due to Covid-related revenue drops. Leicester sought leniency, claiming that their elevated spending was essential to compete at the top of the Premier League table, where they had finished in the top eight across multiple seasons.

In March 2024, the Premier League referred the club to an independent commission, alleging they exceeded limits by £19.5 million. Leicester successfully argued jurisdiction, as they were neither in the Premier League nor officially under the EFL’s remit at the time of the alleged breach. That appeal, though successful, only delayed the inevitable.

Now, new losses of £19.4 million for 2023-24 mean the Foxes are once again in breach, this time under a fresh three-year cycle with a lower allowable threshold of £83 million due to their stint in the Championship. As a result, the Premier League has confirmed its jurisdiction, setting the stage for disciplinary action.

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Points Deduction Looming Over 2025-26 Season

What does this all mean in real terms? Most likely, a points deduction to be served at the beginning of the 2025-26 Championship season. Due to Leicester’s refusal to submit accounts by the 31 December deadline and subsequent legal battles, the case could not be resolved during the 2024-25 campaign. That delay is set to cost them.

Given the precedent from recent PSR cases involving Everton and Nottingham Forest, deductions of between four and ten points have already been applied. But Leicester’s situation could be more severe. Their prolonged legal fight, failure to file accounts, and potential classification as an “aggravated breach” may prompt the Premier League to seek a 12-point penalty, or even more.

Financial Restrictions and Squad Planning Complications

Beyond the immediate threat of lost points, Leicester City face further scrutiny from the EFL in the form of potential transfer restrictions. Should they be found guilty, embargoes, budget agreements, and forced sales may all follow. For a club already dealing with unrest in the stands and uncertainty in the dressing room, it’s the last thing they need.

The managerial position is another point of concern. Despite Ruud van Nistelrooy leading the club back to the top flight in 2024, reports suggest no discussions have taken place regarding his future. With PSR issues clouding recruitment strategies, attracting a replacement of similar calibre could prove challenging. For a club that once stood atop the Premier League against all odds, the present reality feels starkly different.

Bigger than Leicester: What this Means for PSR Enforcement

The Leicester City case adds another dimension to the evolving application of PSR across English football. Unlike Everton and Forest, Leicester’s trajectory—relegation, promotion, and relegation again—has forced a complex debate around jurisdiction. But the arbitration panel’s recent ruling cuts through that noise: the Premier League retains authority when the EFL initiates proceedings and a club subsequently returns to the top flight.

That might be a technical detail, but it carries sweeping implications. As football’s financial watchdogs sharpen their tools, the consequences for clubs hovering between divisions are becoming clearer—and harsher. Forest chose the path of least resistance, accepting responsibility and focusing on mitigation. Leicester City, in contrast, chose legal combat, and they may now pay a heavier price for that approach.

“Leicester have never challenged that they may be in breach of PSR,” the club stated, instead focusing on “who could charge them for doing so and when.” That question has now been answered.

As the Foxes brace for next season in the Championship, the only certainty is that off-pitch battles have now become just as pivotal as those on it.