Nottingham Forest appeal against four-point deduction following breach of Premier League sustainability and profit rules

Nottingham Forest have appealed their four-point deduction for breaching the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules.

Forest admitted breaching the PSR after overspending £34.5m over a three-year period and would have received a six-point deduction.

However, that figure was reduced to four after the independent commission praised their “excellent cooperation”, a deduction that saw them drop below Luton and into the relegation zone.

A statement from Nottingham Forest read: “Nottingham Forest can confirm that it has today lodged an appeal against the four-point sanction imposed by the Commission in relation to the Club's breach of the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). League.

“The club will not make any further statements at this time.”

Forest has already issued a strong statement After being informed of the allegation, he wrote: “Nottingham Forest are extremely disappointed with the Commission's decision to impose a four-point penalty on the club, which will apply with immediate effect.

“Despite our disappointment, we thank the Commission for agreeing to deal with this matter expeditiously. The club considers it essential to the integrity of the league that the charges be resolved in the season in which they are issued.

“We were extremely dismayed by the tone and content of the Premier League's submissions to the Commission.

“After months of commitment to the Premier League and exceptional cooperation throughout, this was unexpected and has damaged the trust we had in the Premier League.

“For the Premier League to ask for an eight-point penalty as a starting point was completely disproportionate to the nine points prescribed by its own insolvency rules.

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“We were also surprised that the Premier League did not take into account the club's unique circumstances and their mitigation at all. In circumstances where this approach is followed by future PSR commissions, it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the newly promoted clubs without parachute payments to compete, thus undermining the integrity and competitiveness of the Premier League.

“While the Premier League may have questioned the club's business plan, the club maintains that it responsibly balanced compliance with the PSR with a significant investment in the team to give us the ability to compete in the league for the first time in over 20 years. .

“Even after the club missed the deadline to inform the PSR, they still took steps to ensure that Brennan Johnson was sold before the end of the transfer window. That was a clear demonstration of our respect and support for the PSR.

“The Commission's decision raises concerns for all aspiring clubs. The player transfer market is a highly specialized commercial environment that cannot be compared to the sale of normal products and services.

“There will be occasions when a player's transfer cannot be completed in the first half of a transfer window and can only be completed at the end of that window. This should not be a reason to condemn a club. So that this does not happen recognized by the Commission or the Premier League should be a cause of extreme concern for all fans of our national football.

“What is of most concern to all aspiring clubs is the disruptive effect this decision will have on the operation of the player exchange model. This is the only model whereby clubs outside the small group at the top end of the Premier League They can realistically advance up the football pyramid.

“The Commission's reasoning is that clubs should only invest after they have made profits in the development of their players. This reasoning destroys mobility in the football pyramid and the effect of the decision will be to drastically reduce everyone's room for manoeuvre. those clubs, which caused the stagnation of our national game.

“We believe that the high levels of cooperation that the club has shown during this process, and which are confirmed and recorded in the Commission's decision, were not reciprocated by the Premier League.”