Forest may be hit with points deduction after spending spree
Nottingham Forest may receive a Premier League points deduction in the near future. The East Midlands club, like every English top-flight team, had to submit financial documents to officials by December 31st. If a team violates Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, they will be notified by the end of the month.
Clubs previously had until May to present such documents in the past. However, regulations changed so that teams knew of violations before the end of the season. Now, any potential FFP charges will be confirmed by January 31st. The move will help avoid controversial incidents like Everton’s situation earlier this fall.
The Merseyside club was docked 10 points for violating financial rules back in November. However, Everton allegedly avoided relegation in previous seasons in part by breaching these rules. As a result, several clubs that have been recently relegated threatened the Toffees with a lawsuit.
Club recently spent over $250 million on 42 new players
Forest has spent freely on new players since earning promotion back to the Premier League in the summer of 2022. The club has bought 42 new players during this timeframe. Team brass recorded a net spend of just over $200 million during the 2022/23 season alone.
Despite the massive spending, Forest narrowly avoided relegation last season by just four points. The club then followed up by spending another $133 million in the most recent summer transfer window.
Part of this massive spending spree was, however, offset by some player sales ahead of the current campaign. Sam Surridge, Braian Ojeda, and Gustavo Scarpa were all sold for relatively minor fees. Nevertheless, Tottenham Hotspur purchased Brennan Johnson from Forest for around $60 million on September 1st.
Forest did not exactly want to lose their star forward. Sanctioning the deal also did not go down well with the club’s fanbase either. However, the club felt that they had to help balance the books. Forest has recorded a net spend of $264 million since the summer of 2022.
Current Premier League profitability and sustainability regulations (PSRs) state that clubs cannot lose more than $132 million over three years. According to The Athletic, Forest recorded a $57.5 million loss in their previous financial year.
Nottingham Forest denies wrongdoing in the face of a points deduction
Despite the club’s precarious position, Forest has announced that they have not broken any rule. “The club has fully complied with its reporting obligations in respect of the Premier League’s revised profit and sustainability rules,” Forest recently stated.
“Promotion to the Premier League will always create challenges, and the treatment of promotion bonuses is just one such example. The club approaches all such challenges with its long-term financial sustainability firmly in mind, as the Premier League rules intended.”
Forest could be the third recent Premier League team to face FFP violations. Along with Everton, Manchester City also breached over 100 financial rules last year. An official ruling, however, has not come down in this case.
The East Midlands club sits 15th in the Premier League standings, five points away from the relegation zone. Any points deduction would put Forest’s standing in the English top flight under serious threat.
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