Leicester City could face at least a 12-point penalty when they start next season back in the Championship, it is claimed.
The Foxes have spiralled into financial rules chaos after chasing their tails trying to sustain a place in the Premier League's top eight. A shock relegation in 2023 took an almighty whack on their income too - and significantly reduced the amount they are allowed to lose over a three-year rolling cycle.
They won promotion in 2023/24 but are heading straight back down again - and have been referred by the Premier League to an independent commission for an alleged breach of profit and sustainability rules for that season, 23/24.
Leicester had previously been referred to the commission for the three years up to 2023 - when they allegedly breached PSR limits by £19.5 million - but escaped punishment due to a loophole, successfully arguing they were no longer a Premier League club and not yet a Championship club when they filed their 2022/23 accounts. That loophole has since been addressed by the top flight and EFL.
The club has recorded total losses of £201.6m in the most recent three-year cycle - although not all, such as spending on academy and infrastructure, are applicable to P&S calculations - but is only allowed to lose up to £84.5m because one year of that was spent in the Championship. Premier League clubs are allowed to lose up to £35m a year and Championship clubs can lose up to £13m, plus an extra £1.5m for the 2023/24 season due to the rising cost of living.
The authorities could come down on them heavily.
The Athletic report: "Because both the EFL and Premier League have prosecuted numerous PSR cases now, we also have a good sense of how many points a tribunal is likely to deduct for a significant breach, particularly if it is considered to be 'aggravated' as opposed to 'mitigated'.
"Given Leicester’s long fight to avoid being sanctioned by either body and their most recent failure to submit accounts to the Premier League, they are almost certainly going to be charged with an aggravated breach. This would suggest a starting position of them getting docked 12 points, though with a good chance that the Premier League will ask for even more."
There has been speculation that Leicester could be hit by a transfer embargo too although LeicestershireLive insists "there are no indications yet that one would be applied".
But there is frustration that the punishment will come next season, when they would be expected to challenge for promotion, rather than this one, when they have long felt doomed to finish in the bottom three anyway.
LeicestershireLive report: "Had Leicester been charged with a breach of their 23-24 finances in January, when the assessments for the other clubs took place, the matter would likely be over now, and any points deduction would have been applied to this season, where it ultimately wouldn’t matter as they’ve been relegated anyway.
"It could be argued that Leicester dragged the situation out, but it was more the Premier League who have done so. Had the club not appealed the 22/23 ruling last summer, they would have started the season with a points deduction, harming their chances of survival. It was the Premier League that challenged the appeal board’s decision and took the matter to a tribunal, dragging out the case.
"In hindsight, yes, Leicester would have been better off not appealing in the first place, and accepting a points deduction at the start of this campaign, allowing them to start afresh next term."
All this comes in a season when the Championship could have as few as three clubs with parachute payments next season, the lowest since the current system was put in place a decade ago. There were six in 2024/25.
Fourteen out of 20 clubs promoted from this division since Stoke City were relegated in 2018 have been in receipt of parachutes but Leicester's £50m head start could be kyboshed by what happens in the PSR ruling.
Sheffield United started this term with a two-point deduction due to defaulting on payments to other clubs in 2022/23 and 2023/24 but recovered to finish third and reach the play-off final.
While you're here, we have launched a new WhatsApp group to deliver the latest Stoke news directly to your phone. Click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in. If for some reason you decide you no longer want to be in our community, you can leave at any time by clicking on the name at the top of your screen and clicking 'Exit Group', simple as that.
What do you think? Click HERE to join the debate