Nottingham Forest’s appeal against a four-point deduction for breaking the Premier League’s financial rules was unsuccessful. This ruling keeps the team at risk of being relegated, with only two games left in the season.
The league announced on Tuesday that an appeal board agreed with the decision made by an independent commission in March, which had dropped Forest into the relegation zone.
Despite this setback, Forest has managed to move out of the bottom three and is currently in 17th place out of the 20 teams in the league, with a three-point lead over the relegation zone.
The breach occurred during the period from 2020 to 2023, when Forest was found to have exceeded the league’s profitability and sustainability regulations. These rules allowed for losses of up to £61 million ($77 million) for the 2022-23 season, Forest’s first back in the Premier League since 1999. However, the club exceeded this threshold by £34.5 million ($44 million).
Forest appealed on two grounds: firstly, that the commission did not consider the £47.5 million ($60 million) sale of Brennan Johnson shortly after the assessment period as a mitigating factor, and secondly, that some or all of the deducted points should have been suspended.
“The appeal board rejected each of these arguments,” stated the Premier League. “They found that the independent commission was within its rights to impose the sanction immediately. Therefore, the four-point deduction will stand.”
Forest still has two games left to play against Chelsea at home and Burnley away. If they earn at least four points from these matches, they will secure their position in the league.
Forest tried to mitigate the situation by attempting to sell Johnson, one of their key players, after last season ended. They realized they were in danger of breaking the rules and needed to sell him or another valuable player before the June 30 deadline for transfers to be counted in the financial assessment period.
Despite receiving bids for Johnson from Atletico Madrid and Brentford before June 30, Forest declined them and eventually sold him to Tottenham on Sept. 1. However, by then, they had already breached the rules.
The appeal board, consisting of three individuals, did not consider Forest’s decision to hold out for a higher fee for Johnson as a mitigating factor. They stated that it was up to the club to manage its affairs in a way that complied with the rules.
