The Premier League is making it’s stance clear and strong on Financial Fair Play rules, stamping down on several clubs. Nottingham Forest are set to be the latest club to be given a serious punishment if found guilty. Everton were already hit with a 10 point deduction earlier this season.
Clubs have been spending too much money in recent years, which many have dubbed unprecedented. The league is cracking down on clubs who are suspected of having broken Financial Fair Play rules to gain unfair advantages, with Manchester City, Tottenham, and even Chelsea being investigated.
Is Nottingham Forest at risk of points deduction?
On Tuesday, it was reported that Nottingham Forest are the latest Premier League club to face an investigation from the authorities. The club had only recently gained promotion last season and managed to survive it to the next season.
Thanks to owner Evangelos Marinakis, Forest have managed to sign a crazy number of 42 players in just three transfer windows. They spent around ÂŁ250 million in just a year’s time. And while it has proved successful in the short term, it could now come back to haunt them.
🚨 Nottingham Forest could face a points deduction if it is deemed the club have breached the Premier League's FFP rules.
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) January 3, 2024
(Source: @TheAthleticFC) pic.twitter.com/3uzAAhfNN9
According to The Athletic, the English league has a set of rules called the Profitability and Sustainability Regulations or in short PSR. These rules allow clubs to lose a maximum amount of ÂŁ105 million in 3 years. But since Forest have only spent a year in the top flight, they can only lose around ÂŁ61 million so far.
With their massive transfer spend in such a short time, without any big cash inflows, Nottingham Forest are the club most likely to break the PSR rules. The league’s new rules also mean that punishments would be swift, and the investigation would be concluded in the following weeks. The club, if found guilty, could be slapped with a similar points deduction this season itself as with Everton. In order to prevent that, the club have hired a top lawyer to defend themselves and will challenge any punishment given.
Nottingham Forest’s PL struggle continues
The potentiality of a points deduction will add more pressure on Nottingham Forest, who are already battling relegation this season. Despite so much money invested, the team has not managed to further their distance from the bottom of the league table.
Recently, their form did improve a little with the appointment of sacked Al Ittihad Nuno EspĂrito Santo, and they managed to grab two big victories against Newcastle United and Manchester United. Despite this, the club are only in 15th position, with only 20 points so far. If they are hit with a points deduction, then Forest would definitely face a much tougher test in the coming months,
For now Nottingham Forest will focus on their next game against Blackpool in the FA Cup 3rd round on Sunday.
