🚨 Champions a decade ago, English club handed huge points deduction | OneFootball

A decade ago, Leicester City sensationally celebrated the English championship. Last season, the Foxes were relegated from the Premier League to the EFL Championship and are now at acute risk of another relegation. The club from the East Midlands was punished with a massive points deduction after it was found that they violated the Premier League's financial rules. 

Leicester City expressed their "disappointment" with the ruling in an official statement regarding the sanction, stating that the penalty was "disproportionate" and did not adequately consider what they see as mitigating circumstances.

The points deduction relates to a breach of the EFL's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) for the 2023/24 season. The decision was confirmed on Thursday.

The Foxes were accused of failing to submit their annual accounts by the December 31 deadline and not meeting the requirements to provide the Premier League with "complete, comprehensive, and timely support."

In a club statement, it reads: "The significance [of the mitigating circumstances] cannot be overstated given the potential impact on our sporting ambitions this season.

We welcome the commission's agreement with the club's view that compliance with the regulations for the 2024 financial year should be assessed over a 36-month period – an important point for both the period in question and the club's planning certainty regarding PSR/P&S compliance in the 2025 financial year.

The panel also agreed that there are no aggravating circumstances that should have been considered in the sanction – a position the club has always maintained – and acknowledged that the club showed positive financial development in the 2024 financial year.

We are now fully reviewing the decision and considering the options available to us. We remain committed to constructive cooperation and ensuring that any further actions are decided fairly, proportionately, and through the appropriate procedures."

In September 2024, Leicester won an appeal related to the first alleged PSR breach. A panel decided that the Premier League had no jurisdiction to punish Leicester as the club had been relegated to the Championship after the end of the accounting period on June 30, 2023.

Leicester's financial turbulence led to the club recording losses of over 200 million pounds in the rolling three-year period up to June 30, 2024.

This was 119 million pounds more than the maximum amount allowed under the PSR rules of 81 million pounds.

The Foxes had previously fought for a place in the Champions League under Brendan Rodgers, while their FA Cup victory and a European semi-final highlighted their success even after the sensational championship title under Claudio Ranieri in 2016.

Like Aston Villa, Newcastle, and Crystal Palace, Leicester sees the penalty as a punishment for sporting ambition. The PSR era ended after last month's January transfer window. Instead, a new set of rules called Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) is set to regulate spending in the top English league in the future.

The challenge for the Foxes is now clear: following the departure of coach Martí Cifuentes last month, there is a risk of relegation to League One.

The appointment of a new head coach is a top priority before this weekend's away trip to Birmingham City. Leicester, like Blackburn Rovers, is only outside the relegation zone due to goal difference.

A positive result for West Bromwich Albion, who next host Stoke City, could see the Foxes slip into the bottom three positions. 

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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