Nottingham Forest are reportedly deemed to be at high risk of a Premier League points deduction after years of frivolous spending on transfer fees and wages. Everton could also be punished – for the second time this season – as authorities mull over a second charge for breaching profit and sustainability rules.
The Toffees were slapped with the biggest sporting punishment in Premier League history back in November, when a 10-point penalty sent them tumbling into the relegation zone. Sean Dyche’s side have rallied since to lift themselves out of trouble, but more trouble could be on the horizon.
Everton’s first charge related to a breach of profit and sustainability rules, with clubs permitted to lose a maximum of £105million over a three-year period. There are fears they could be hit with a second charge after accounts for 2022/23 were submitted on December 31.
According to The Times, experts believe that Forest are also in the firing line after following up their big-spending Championship promotion push with a blockbuster sequence of transfers which ultimately kept them in the top flight.
Due to Forest spending two of the past three years in the EFL, they are only permitted under Premier League rules to lose a maximum of £61m. They spent close to that exact figure during their final two seasons in the Championship.
And although their revenue will have surged by earning a spot in the Premier League, a raft of new signings and the lucrative contracts accompanying them undoubtedly stung the Tricky Trees’ finances.
Forest and Everton, as well as any other club in possible danger, will discover by January 14 whether they face Premier League charges. Two weeks will then be granted to respond, and any subsequent hearing by an independent commission will be completed by early April so that potential points deductions can be applied this season.
Everton have already appealed the 10-point deduction applied late last year, with the club ‘shocked and disappointed’ by the severity of the punishment. The Merseyside outfit and Forest are both currently in relegation danger.
Dyche’s Toffees responded to their penalty with a sequence of superb results, but three defeats on the spin have left them hovering dangerously above the drop zone with a one-point buffer to 17th-place Luton Town.
Forest, meanwhile, have reaped the benefits of a managerial change. Back-to-back wins under Nuno Espirito Santo – brought in to replace the popular Steve Cooper – have left them five points clear of the relegation zone in 15th.
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