New Leicester City points deduction twist emerges - it could look different | OneFootball

Leicester City are set for a hearing with the Premier League regarding PSR breaches

Football finance expert Stefan Borson has claimed that Leicester City are in line to receive a six-point deduction penalty if found guilty of a breach of profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

The Foxes are reportedly set to hold the hearing related to the charges against them by the Premier League next week.

It’s been claimed that the Championship side have breached the rules by as much as £20 million for the period ending in 2023/24.

While the club were competing in the second division for one of the three seasons in which this period counts, the case has been passed on to the Premier League rather than the EFL.

Everton and Nottingham Forest have previously been found guilty of breaching PSR during the 2023/24 campaign, and were both deducted points by the Premier League.

Leicester City are set for a six-point deduction penalty if found guilty

Borson has clarified the case, claiming that the season in the Championship meant that Leicester’s PSR headroom was roughly an £83 million limit over three years instead of the £105 million one for Premier League sides.

While it’s been speculated that a nine or 12 point deduction is a possibility, he’s suggested that might not be the situation after all because it is the top flight who are taking on the case.

“It’s actually very similar to the Nottingham Forest and the Everton cases in that they breached by around £20 million for 2023/24,” said Borson, via talkSPORT on YouTube.

“That was a season when they were actually in the EFL, they then got promoted and the EFL passed the jurisdiction of the case over to the Premier League.

“So there was a case as to whether the Premier League were able to take care of the case, or if whether Leicester would successfully say ‘actually, we’re not in anybody’s jurisdiction because we’re between divisions’.

“They did that with 22/23, they succeeded there, but they did not win that argument in relation to 23/24, so they were then charged by the Premier League.

“They’re in breach by about £20 million, that’s the estimate that’s out in the outside world, that’s around about 25 per cent above the £83 million target because they had one season in the EFL, so two Premier League seasons and one EFL season.

“And that means they had about £83 [million] and not £105 [million headroom].

“So that means they’re probably, I mean there’s a lot of talk they’re going to get nine, 12 points because they’ve looked at the EFL guidance.”

While he has warned there could be some questions over cooperation, he expects Leicester to receive a six-point penalty if found guilty by the Premier League.

“First of all, they are apparently defending the case, which means that they’re not going to admit it early, that means there’s a question over cooperation and documentation,” he added.

“That means if it is found against them, they are not going to get mitigation and if they’re not going to get mitigation then what you’ve got is the base for what this breach is.

“I would say, rather than it being the 12 points that you’ve heard about, that this will actually probably be three points, plus another three.

“So, taking the previous Premier League cases that we’ve had, the Everton and Nottingham Forest cases, it looks like they’re broadly around three base points for a significant breach — £20 million is a significant breach — and more or less about a point for every £6.5 million or about three points for every 20 per cent over the limit.

“So I think it’s around six points.”

Leicester are currently 12th in the Championship table with 21 points from their opening 15 fixtures, leaving them four adrift of the play-offs.

If a six point deduction was handed right now, then Martí Cifuentes’ side would drop to 19th in the table, just below Blackburn Rovers.

Points deduction penalty adds pressure to Marti Cifuentes

Cifuentes arrived at Leicester well after any rule breaks, so he bears no responsibility if the club are found guilty by the Premier League.

But if the team drops down into the bottom half of the Championship, then the pressure will really be on to turn their results around.

The Foxes are expected to be in the mix for a top two spot, and yet they are nowhere near at the moment, which is very underwhelming.

There’s the possibility that a six point deduction penalty, while better than a nine or 12 points deduction, will really hurt their hopes of a top six finish this season.