Leicester City are facing more points deduction uncertainty after the Premier League appears to have appealed against the latest decision in their profit and sustainability (PSR) case, sources have told Football Insider.
Leicester were charged in March with a breach of the Premier League’s PSR rules for 2022-23 after reporting losses of £89.7million for that year alone, with top-flight sides only permitted to lose £105million over a rolling three-year period.
But they argued they were no longer a Premier League club when they submitted their accounts on 30 June last year following their relegation to the Championship.
An independent commission dismissed those claims in July and ruled they could be charged by the Premier League.
But Leicester confirmed in a statement on 3 September their appeal against that ruling had been successful, handing them a significant boost in their bid to avoid a points deduction.
In its ruling, the independent panel said the PSR rules “are, in relevant parts, far from well drafted”, while the Premier League admitted it was “surprised and disappointed” by the decision.
The Lawyer reported on 16 October the governing body is now readying its legal teams to submit an appeal against the decision.
Sources have told Football Insider that appeal has likely already been submitted by the Premier League as it looks to overturn the ruling.
Premier League facing ‘enormous’ hurdle in Leicester case
Under the arbitration rules in the Premier League handbook, there are few ways in which an appeal board’s decision can be challenged.
Those include the panel reaching out of the jurisdiction of the body that made the decision, the verdict being reached as a result of fraud or bad faith, procedural errors, a perverse interpretation of the law or the ruling could not reasonably have been reached by any panel that had applied its mind properly to the facts of the case.
Sources have told Football Insider the Premier League likely submitted its appeal with the belief no reasonable panel would have reached that decision after hearing the facts.
But that is understood to be an “enormously difficult” point to prove given that two of the three panel members in question were former Court of Appeal judges.
If the ruling is eventually overturned, Leicester would likely land a points deduction after Everton and Nottingham Forest were both docked points last season following their PSR breaches.
Football Insider revealed on 4 September the Leicestershire club could have also breached the spending rules for 2023-24 after they were close to the PSR limit.
Although Leicester were a Championship club last season, they were a Premier League side when they submitted their accounts at the end of June and can be charged by the governing body if they are found to have broken the rules.
Steve Cooper’s side currently sit three points above the relegation zone ahead of their trip to Southampton on Saturday (19 October).
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