The English Football League is adamant about charging the Championship winners from the previous season for alleged Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) violations that occurred over the three-year accounting period ending June 30, 2023, according to a recent story in The Guardian.
Leicester successfully argued that they were no longer under the league’s authority at the time of submitting their 2022–23 accounts because the team had already been relegated and had assumed EFL membership, which allowed them to avoid penalty from the Premier League earlier this month.
The EFL has been assured that, even though the Foxes were not involved in the EFL throughout the pertinent accounting period, they have the right to penalize the team for the £24.4 million financial infraction.
“The club had been charged with a £24.4m breach of the £105m PSR loss limit by the Premier League, which based on the punishments given to Everton and Nottingham Forest last season would have resulted in a deduction of up to seven points if found guilty,” according to the newspaper.
“The EFL is committed to making sure the rules are followed, and it’s known that it was advised that, in the event of a relegation, Leicester would come under its purview. The club filed its accounts two and a half weeks after formally joining the Championship on June 13, 2023.”
Last season, Leicester defeated Daniel Farke’s Whites to win the Championship title ahead of Ipswich Town and Leeds United, who finished in third place. Leicester also earned promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt.
Some Leeds fans believed that Leicester’s financial dealings had given the East Midlands team an unfair edge, enabling them to play at a higher level and keep hold of their best players, in contrast to what had happened at Elland Road this summer when players like Georginio Rutter, Archie Gray, and Crysencio Summerville were sold in order to comply with PSR.
Since the EFL does not have to follow any statute of limitations when filing penalties for past PSR violations, Leicester will probably face consequences if they return to the Championship in 2025–2026.
In the event that the club is shown to have violated PSR for an additional, secondary accounting period, say from 2021 to 2024, they will probably face additional sanctions.
While still receiving Premier League revenue, the club reported a combined pre-tax deficit of £182.5 million for the seasons ending in 2022–2023 and 2022–2023. For the 2021–2024 accounting period, Leicester will have a maximum loss threshold of almost £83 million.