Leicester City avoid point deduction after winning PSR appeal - will this impact Man City breaches?

The Foxes won their appeal against a decision that an independent commission had jurisdiction to consider an alleged breach of profit and sustainability rules (PSR). An appeal board found that Leicester’s accounting period – after it was claimed the club exceeded the permitted £105m threshold over three seasons – ended on June 30, 2023, a month and two days after the Foxes were relegated from the top flight.

The Premier League said the appeal board’s decision “effectively means that, despite the club being a member of the [Premier] League from seasons 2019-20 to 2022-23, the league cannot take action against the club for exceeding the relevant PSR threshold in respect of the associated accounting periods”. It added that the verdict “will have created a situation where any club exceeding the PSR threshold could avoid accountability in these specific circumstances”.

Leicester, who could have faced a points deduction had they been found to have breached financial rules, welcomed the decision, adding that the verdict “supports our consistently stated position that any action against the club should be pursued in accordance with the applicable rules” and “how they are actually written”.

After a campaign in the Championship, Leicester returned to the Premier League this season. They have drawn one and lost two of their opening three fixtures. Both Nottingham Forest and Everton were given points deductions last season for breaching PSR rules.

PSR was a hot topic of debate over the summer transfer window, as it forced Premier League clubs to sell some of their players before they could buy others. This sparked deals such as Aaron Wan-Bissaka moving from Man United to West Ham, as the Red Devils tried to free up funds for the signings of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich.

How will this affect Man City?

In February 2023, Manchester City were charged with 115 alleged breaches of financial rules by the Premier League. The charges run through a nine-year period from 2009 until 2018.

These accusations largely centre around Man City allegedly failing to provide accurate financial information, which is different to Leicester’s alleged overspending. During that period, Manchester City won the Premier League three times and became arguably the biggest club in English football.

According to the Premier League, punishments can range from a points deduction to being ordered to pay compensation. But the club could be expelled from the Premier League altogether, if found guilty.

It is unlikely that Leicester’s appeal victory will affect Manchester City in any way - even though there is now a precedent for overturning Premier League charges, the Foxes were facing just the one charge, rather than over 100.