Explained: Forest’s points deduction and what it means for Everton and City

Points Deduction Pushes Nottingham Forest into Relegation Zone

For the second time this Premier League season, a points deduction for breaching its profit and sustainability rules (PSR) has dragged a club down the table and into the relegation zone.

First it was Everton, whose initial 10-point penalty last November was recently reduced to six on appeal, and now it is Nottingham Forest. A four-point deduction, confirmed by the Premier League on Monday has pushed Nuno Espirito Santo’s side from 17th to 18th, suddenly a point adrift of safety.

Analysis of the Verdict

The Athletic analyses the 51-page verdict of an independent commission that has heightened Forest’s fears of relegation to the Championship after two seasons back in the domestic elite.

Why have Forest been deducted points?

This is what a Premier League commission called a “significant” breach of PSR. Forest were allowed permissible losses of £61million ($77.6m) as a promoted club in 2022-23 but were found to have exceeded that threshold for a three-year period by the very precise sum of £34,536,000.

GO DEEPER

What is PSR and why do Premier League rules only allow clubs to lose £105m?

Forest have never contested the breach, either at the point of charge or during a two-day hearing held this month in London, but always maintained that the “uniqueness” of their situation warranted leniency. They said they were a club attempting to overcome financial disadvantages and unable to spend as others in the top flight had done.

The club’s defence, led by Nick De Marco KC, doubted that “a points deduction would be appropriate” but if one was to be imposed said “it should be minimal”. Everton’s PSR breach, they argued, was “far more serious”, despite Forest’s breach being 77 per cent larger. Their cooperation throughout the process, too, was put forward as another thread of mitigation.

The Premier League, though, always pushed to make Forest the second club to be docked points this season following Everton’s previous punishments.

Forest coach Nuno Espirito Santo (MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

They maintained that the only suitable sanction was a points deduction, something that drew agreement from the three-person independent commission.

The only question remaining then became how many points would be taken away.

Why have Forest been deducted four points specifically?

Forest might have argued unconvincingly that a points deduction would be unnecessary but the Premier League made it known that it felt taking eight points away would be a more fitting punishment.

They cited Everton’s six-point deduction, reduced last month from 10 on appeal, as a new benchmark, with Forest going far beyond the £19.5million breach that marked a Premier League precedent. It was argued that three points should be the starting point for a breach, as it was with Everton, with a further five added owing to the calculations that Forest’s breach was 1.77 times that of a club who are among their relegation rivals.

The Premier League did accept Forest’s cooperation and early guilty plea should see two of those points retained, leaving a six-point deduction, but the commission would eventually land somewhere in the middle of what the respective parties deemed appropriate.

Unable to draw upon a “fixed formula”, a fact another panel had previously lamented in Everton’s appeal, the commission said that the entry point would be a three-point deduction, with a further three added owing to the scale of Forest’s breach.

The commission also took on board the club’s behaviour. “There is no dispute that early plea/exceptional cooperation should result in a deduction,” they said. That chopped two points off the six to bring the final deduction to four points.

Why is the punishment lighter than Everton’s?

It is the question that will be asked by thousands on Merseyside. Just a month after Everton were forced to accept a reduced points deduction of six for a PSR breach of £19.5million, Forest have ended

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities.
• Target 10.4: Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality.
• Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator 8.5.1: Average hourly earnings of female and male employees, by occupation, age group and persons with disabilities.
• Indicator 10.4.1: Labour share of GDP, comprising wages and social protection transfers.
• Indicator 16.6.2: Proportion of population satisfied with their last experience of public services.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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Source: theathletic.com

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