Exclusive: Leicester could be hit by 15-point deduction before start of 2024/25 season
It’s not been five minutes since Enzo Maresca jumped ship at Leicester City, and they could be set to get some more bad news.
The Foxes were, at one stage in the 2023/24 season, runaway leaders of the Championship.
They were eventually reeled in and were even in danger of being overhauled in the face for promotion to the Premier League, though they managed to find some very late season form to get them over the line.
Maresca was key to that entire process, however, at the first chance he had to move on, he took it.
Leicester and Chelsea amongst teams to be fined for FFP breaches
Chelsea wouldn’t appear to be the healthiest of hunting grounds for managers looking to further their careers, but the Italian appears to be taking on the challenge with his eyes wide open.
If he’s not only able to get the team playing well but also tame the interference of club owner, Todd Boehly, Blues fans will surely take to him quickly.
He could be hamstrung in the transfer market, however, with former Premier League co-creator Jon Smith noting that Chelsea are likely to be punished for breaches in Financial Fair Play – something that his old club are also now being accused of.
“It looks like Leicester may possibly be hit with a 15-point deduction before the season starts, and things are certainly beginning to shape up that way,” Smith said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.
“What I’m hearing now may not happen, however, the news is coming from very good sources.
“Forest have breached Financial Fair Play again whilst Chelsea may have also done so, therefore we could also see both clubs facing more charges.
“Villa are another team to have breached FFP regulations and they too are facing punishment, whilst Man City’s 115 charges will be heard before Christmas.
“So I think it’s worth noting that, of course, you have to regulate in the game, but let’s not forget that it’s supporters who are the lifeblood of the game as well as the players.
“For both parties it’s all about what happens on the pitch, and that shouldn’t be determined sizeably by what happens off it.”
Very much a case of out of the frying pan into the fire it seems, with Maresca really putting himself in the firing line at the club.
It isn’t clear at this stage what sort of timeframe surrounds all of the clubs mentioned in terms of them being punished.
The last thing any would want is starting the campaign well behind their opponents, or surging ahead only to find that towards the end of the season they’re pegged right back.
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