Nottingham Forest have hit out at the Premier League in a statement as they fall to the relegation zone with a points deduction after breaching financial rules.

Nottingham Forest say their confidence in the Premier League has been “damaged” as they receive a four-point deduction that has put them in the relegation zone.

The Premier League officially confirmed Forest's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) breach ban on Monday afternoon.

They have been docked four points and that means they drop to 18th place, with Luton the beneficiary as they climb out of the relegation zone.

Forest has the right to appeal, but it is unclear whether he will proceed with it.

A Premier League statement said: “An independent commission has applied an immediate four-point deduction to Nottingham Forest FC for breaches of the Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) for the period ending the 2022/23 season. .

“Nottingham Forest were referred to an independent commission on January 15, after the club admitted it had exceeded the relevant PSR threshold of £61m by £34.5m.

“The threshold was less than £105 million as the club spent two seasons of the assessment period in the EFL Championship. The case was heard under the new Premier League Rules, which provide an accelerated timetable for cases to be heard. of PSR are resolved in the same season in which the complaint is issued.

“The independent Commission determined the sanction following a two-day hearing this month, in which the club had the opportunity to detail a number of mitigating factors. The Commission concluded that the club had demonstrated 'exceptional cooperation' in its dealings with the Premier League. throughout the process.”

Forest later responded to the allegation and lashed out at the Premier League, saying in a statement: “Nottingham Forest are extremely disappointed with the Commission's decision to impose a four-point penalty on the club, which will take effect 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.

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“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.

“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.

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“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 a profit 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.”

The Premier League had already confirmed in January that Forest had been found guilty of violating PSR rules.

Top-flight regulations state that no team over a three-year period can lose more than £105m, whereas if a team were in the EFL it is less than that.

The East Midlands club promoted to the Premier League in 2022.

In that time, they spent £250m signing 45 players, while only earning £5m in transfers.

Brennan Johnson's £45m sale to Tottenham last summer came too late to be accounted for in the period analysed, meaning it could not be used to offset some of their losses.

However, we couldn't find out who is relegated from the Premier League until after the season ends.

Appeals likely won't be decided until after the final start of the campaign.

Everton were deducted ten points at the start of the season, later reduced to six on appeal.